


The Kind of Two

by ZerocielX



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2017-12-22 02:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 60,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/907862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZerocielX/pseuds/ZerocielX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happen when Ash Ketchum Smashes a window when playing a game? Who the crazy professor? What secrets does he have? What do May and Ash have to do with this?  Find Out!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It all started out like this?

**Zero: Hello Guys and Welcome to my first story.**

**Mike: Yeah it probily crappy so leave now and forever hold your peace.(from another story)**

**AJ: Mikey want me to Tell mom your Messing with Zero again!(from another story)**

**Mike: MY name is Mike not Mikey! and no good bye!**

***Mike leaves***

**Zero:Now who is going to do the disclaimer?!**

**Disclamer: Zero doesn't own pokemon only her Oc the plot to the story.**

**Zero: lets start the Chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 1: **It all started like this?**

"Let's see you catch this!" a young girl exuberantly exclaimed

"I'm waiting for it," a young boy responded

The girl smiled at her friend as she pulled back her arm. She then twirled herself clockwise as she released the orange frisbee in the air

The young boy named Ash started running toward the frisbee as it was coming down to the ground. Ash knowing that he would never catch it with his current speed, leaped off the ground and extended his arms as he darted for the object

The young girl named May looked with glee as the dust cleared. Ash was laying with his body flat on the ground. He picked his face up from the dirt and looked out toward his hand. He grinned and jumped up into the air as he realized that he caught the frisbee

Brock and Max, two close friends of Ash, were standing on the side of the field watching as the two young teens played together. There were very few trees where they were playing, which was why they chose to play in this area as there was plenty of free space to run around. Near the end of the field was a small silver toned building, with small circular windows and a very high tech door. The kids decided to play near the middle of the field so they didn't accidentally disturb whoever was living there. But in the heat of their game, the two friends didn't realize that they were slowly but surely beginning to move toward the small building, as each throw moved them closer and closer out of the field. Brock and Max, the oldest and youngest of the group respectively, also began walking toward their friends while watching them continue to play with much excitement.

"Gee, those two are really getting into this aren't they? I sure hope Ash can beat my sister," Max said giggling, "I want her to lose for beating me!"

"This game could go either way," Brock replied, "After all, they're the two who made it to the finals of our little tournament."

Ash and May continued to throw the frisbee at each other, each trying to throw it as far away from their opponents reach as they could so they could win a point.

May moved her body athletically, as she was leaping and running with delight catching all of Ash's throws. The young girls' thick brunette hair blew in the wind as she was playing. She noticed her chest started to hinder her movement when they were playing, as her breasts continued to bounce with each run. May tried to ignore it as she knew there was nothing she could do with the type of bra she was wearing.

Ash, now holding the frisbee again after another throw from May, stared her down in a showdown. May started running to the side of the clearing so she would have an easy time to catch the frisbee no matter which direction he would throw it in.

May bent forward putting her palms on her knees. She licked her lips in anticipation, waiting for her moment. Her huge smile and determined eyes gave Ash the impression that she wasn't going to give up easy. May continued to wait for Ash to throw the frisbee, as her heart continued to pump faster.

Ash stood there eyeing his opponent, he knew the girl was serious about winning the match. After all, either side needed only one more point to win, and whoever managed to score would win the tournament they played as a group with Brock and Max.

Ash felt a drop of water fall off his face. He rubbed the side of his face with his elbow as he noticed he was sweating. He gripped the edge of the frisbee tightly, he only needed to throw the frisbee where May couldn't catch it in order to win. He also knew he needed to throw it in the vicinity of May's position, or it would be considered a foul and he would automatically lose. He was in a very tight situation, as this round had lasted over 40 minutes with a lot riding on the outcome.

The prize for winning the tournament was an extra slice of strawberry shortcake left over from their lunch before. Ash and May were more determined to eat that last piece of cake than their other two friends, as neither Ash or May could resist eating something as creamy and tasty as cake. This fueled their ambitions to win the game, and both of them played so intently and so seriously, that one would expect they were acting like the prize would be the world itself.

Ash returned a smile to his opponent. Both players were staring into each others eyes as if they could read what the other was about to do by their facial expressions. Brock and Max did nothing but watch silently, awaiting the outcome. The tension in the players grew, but the smiles on their faces didn't change, which only increased the anxiety and intensity between them.

Fueled by the intensity of the game, none of the group realized that they were much closer to the small silver toned building then before. In fact, May was only standing roughly ten feet in front of it. All eyes were glued on the game however, as none of them could break their gaze off of it in order to notice something in the background.

Finally, Ash lifted his arm back as he prepared to make his throw.

"This is it!" Ash snarled.

"C'mon Ash, give it to me!" May sarcastically yelled back.

Ash released the frisbee in the air. May looked up at the flying disc as she noticed it was too high up for her to jump. Brock and Max gasped as it looked like May would miss the catch.

May, still fixated on the frisbee, started running backwards so she could catch it as it came down. Ash stared intently as he had put all the last of his remaining strength into that last throw.

"She's going to miss it!" Max yelled.

May continued running backwards as a feeling of dread washed over her.

"NO! I can't catch it!" May gasped.

The frisbee zoomed over May's head until suddenly….

 **CRASH!** May stopped in her tracks and looked forward with wide open eyes. Her blue sapphire eyes extended as her mouth gaped open. In a shock to all of them, the group looked with anxiety as they saw the frisbee smash through one of the small circular windows from the small silver toned building.

"Oh…damn…" Ash thought to himself, looking at what he had done.

"I didn't think we were that close to this building!" Brock said, astonished, as he and Max started running toward May.

May stared at the cracked glass as some shards began to fall and break on the floor. Her gaze was fixated on the cracked window until Ash ran up to her and snapped her out of her gaze.

"May?" Ash asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.

May looked back at her friend and said nothing, she was uncertain and worried.

Max exclaimed, "I sure hope nobody was home…"

May brushed Ash's hand off her shoulder and walked ahead of him. While Brock and Max continued to look at the broken shards, Ash and May were locked in a deep train of thought while staring at one another.

Both knew what this meant.

The cake.

Even though they both felt terrible about breaking the window, the cake was the first thing that came to both the boy and girls' minds as the first sounds of broken glass occurred. As if they could understand each other's expressions and feelings, both Ash and May knew what the other was thinking.

The small slice of strawberry shortcake…belonged to the victor…May.

Having thrown the frisbee out of bounds into foul territory, Ash had lost the match even though May missed catching it.

Before their minds could even go back to the broken glass, May uttered a sound.

"I get the cake Ash?" she uttered in a low soft voice.

"You get the cake May," Ash reassured her in a low, defeated voice.

May managed to smile and closed both her eyes tightly for a few seconds to quietly celebrate her victory over their 40 minute match, before turning around to the shattered window while the feeling of anxiety and uncertainty washed over her again.

Ash looked at his friend compassionately before focusing his attention on the building and feeling terrible for breaking the glass. As the group continued to feel a bit nervous, their shock and tension increased ten-fold as an old, high pitched voice screamed from inside the building.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED OVER HERE!?"

Ash and May felt their hearts leap up into their throats. They took one final glance at each other for some false hope of reassurance, as the doors slid open and the old man inside opened the door…

man inside opened the door…


	2. "You break it, you buy it!"

**Zero: Welcome to chapter 2!**

**AJ: Yeah the next chapter.**

**Mike: can we get on with this I'm already mad with you two!**

**AJ: want me to tell mom again?**

**Mike: she not THAT scary.**

**???:Think again!**

**Mike:NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo**

**Zero:Hey May.**

**May:Hey Zero i'll just get this little trouble maker out of here.**

**Zero:Be my guest.**

***May begans to drag Mike away***

**Mike: AVERNAGE ME AJ!**

**Aj: In your dream.**

**Zero: well ok! I do not own pokemon or anything you say I do becide Mike and Aj.**

 

* * *

**Chapter 2** **"You break it, you buy it!"**

 

 

The four kids looked before them as a shadowy figure began to emerge from the house. As the sunlight revealed his character, the group looked at him a bit reluctantly. The elderly man who appeared to be in his early 60's had frizzy gray hair sticking out from the sides of his head. He had a large, oval-like nose that was almost humorous to look at. His balding head reflected the sunlight that battered down upon his scalp. The old man was wearing a white lab coat that stretched down to his knees. His dark black pants contrasted his shirt which was full of dirt patches underneath his open lab coat.

He gazed upon the kids with both a nervous and convulsed demeanor. Without saying another word, the man took out from his coat pocket the frisbee that Ash had accidentally thrown through the window.

"Which one of you did this?" he asked in a gruff, curious voice.

Ash's nose twitched before he stepped forward, "I…was the one who broke your window…I don't know how I could say this but…"

"Never mind!" the elderly man interrupted while tossing the frisbee back up into the air.

As Brock jumped forward to catch the frisbee as it fell, the old man turned to the group as a glimmer sparked in his eye.

"I hope you kids know that you're going to have to reimburse me for the window," he said, cracking a smile.

"Wha…really?" May asked, startled.

"When you break other peoples things you're going to be expected to pay for it, little girl," he snickered, "Anyway, come inside. I'd like to take the names down of you kids you know."

Ash and the others took a glance at each other before reluctantly walking forward into the small building. As the group walked into the building they were aghast by all the high-tech devices around them. Mechanical arms moved erratically placing small objects on conveyor belts. Bubbling chemicals were being mixed and remixed in test tubes by machines. Various computer screens were displaying numerical data and mathematical formulas.

The gang realized that they appeared to be inside some type of lab, and judging by the elderly man's appearance, he was the scientist or professor of this particular lab. The gang continued walking a few steps behind the man as he motioned for them to follow him.

"Wow, what is with all this stuff?" Max asked curiously.

The others continued to gaze around as the elderly man motioned for them to sit on an orange couch in front of a coffee table. Ash sat on the left side of the couch while Pikachu jumped on his lap, as May, Max and Brock sat next to him respectively.

"Nooooooooooow then!" the elderly man exclaimed, "Whose names should I be taking to report this vandalism?"

"Hey hold on, I told you it was an accident!" Ash said defensively, waving his hand.

"Now, now, now. It doesn't matter to me, all I want is the cost of my window repaired," the man exuberantly exclaimed as he twirled around.

He then suddenly stopped spinning and put his face right in front of Ash's. Ash jerked his head back with a nervous gaze as the others looked upon them.

"Unleeeeeeeeeeeesssss," the man said cheerfully as he grinned, "You're willing to work for me to pay up your debt."

"But…we don't even know who you are or what you even do here," Brock interrupted.

The elderly man turned his face away from Ash and turned toward Brock, "Well then, let me introduce myself as, "Mr. I just got my window broken by four kids and their Pikachu!"

The group stared at him with blank expressions.

May raised her hand in order to get the man's attention. "Um, Mr. I just got my window broken by four kids and their Pikachu?" she asked naively.

The man raised an eyebrow as he stared at the petite young girl, "Yes…?"

"I think your lab coat is on fire," she said softly.

The elderly man's eyes opened wide as he glanced down at the back of his lab coat. He had been leaning against the fireplace that was a few feet ahead of the coffee table. The back of his lab coat ended up catching the flames blowing from the opened fire place during his spontaneous movements.

"GAH!" he screamed as he jumped in the air flinging his coat left and right.

The man continued trying to put out the fire by rubbing his back against a wall, only to find out that he wasn't doing a very good job at doing so. As the gang continued to watch him prance around muttering various phrases to himself, Ash decided to get up to help him.

"Don't you think we should help him put out the fire?" Ash asked his friends.

"That would be a good idea Ash, it doesn't look like our friend here is having the time of his life," Brock replied.

"Why don't you take off your lab coat?!" May shouted.

The scientist looked up at the girl and said, "Gee, why didn't I think of that?"

He then removed his arms form the sleeves of his lab coat as the fire still spread across the fabric. He dropped his coat to the floor as Ash and May ran up to it and started to stomp on the fire in order to put it out. Max stood holding Pikachu in his arms watching from the couch.

"WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING? YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOUR PANTS ON FIRE!" the man warned.

"Wuh?" Ash and May said while noticing their attempts to put out the fire had been pointless.

Brock yelled, "Move away and just douse the flames with your water Pokemon instead!"

Ash and May stepped back a bit and reached for their Pokeballs. The elderly man stood behind his lab coat watching the kids send out their Pokemon.

"Squirtle!"

"Corphish!"

"Bubble Beam!"

"Water Gun!"

The small timid turtle and jolly lobster spouted aquatic attacks from their mouths and pincers respectively. The water attacks successfully doused the flaming lab coat but they put out too much pressure as well!

As the splashes cleared, the kids saw the man drenched with water while sitting on the floor, along with the fireplace behind him completely dry. The man looked even more fed up than he was before, as he wiped his brow with his soaking arm sleeve.

"Eh, I think we overdid it a little Corphish," Ash said, frowning.

"Well we put out the fire, he can't be mad at us can he?" May asked reluctantly, feeling a sweat mark run down her face.

The man finally stood up as he stared at the young teens completely dripping with water as it made a puddle on the floor underneath him.

He stared at them with a stern expression and stated very quietly, "I don't know why I invited you kids in here, as I know I probably just made the biggest mistake of my life."

May took a glance at Ash for reassurance but he continued staring straight at the man.

The man continued, "I am going to go into the other room to change my clothes. My name is "I cannot stand the lot of you", and when I come back, I want to see you kids RIGHT on that couch."

"Uh, of course," Ash said nervously.

The man began to walk through the doorway before turning around, "And for the love of God, do NOT touch anything. Do NOT look at anything. Do NOT even think about doing ANYTHING at all. You do NOT want to upset me anymore than you already have, as I think my blood pressure has already risen since you kids entered my place."

Brock stepped forward, "Sure, we won't do anything until you get back. Right guys?"

Ash, May and Max replied with, "Yep!"

The scientist shook his head again before exiting the room.

"Phew, at least he's gone," Max breathed a sign of relief.

"Hey Brock," Ash asked, "Why didn't you help us put out the fire with your water Pokemon?"

Brock quickly answered, "Don't you remember Ash? I sent all my Pokemon except Foretress back to my brother in Pewter Gym. I just sent them over yesterday if you recall."

"Ah, yeah. I forgot about that," Ash said, putting his hands on his hips.

Max again glanced around the wide open room they were in, with various electronic and mechanical devices moving at alarming speeds.

"This place is AMAZING!" Max shouted gleefully, "Just look at all this cool stuff going on!"

"Don't get too carried away Max," Brock reminded him, "The professor told us not to touch anything. We don't even know what all this stuff is for or what it even does."

"Oh you're right. It's still fun to look at though. It's no fair that we can't at least get a little closer and touch some of this stuff," Max sighed.

"Yeah, but let's just sit still for the moment. Right Ash?" Brock asked as he noticed Ash wasn't near him.

"Uh….Ash?" Brock said again looking around the room.

"May?" Max added as he noticed his sister also wasn't in the vicinity.

Pikachu uttered, "Pika." and cocked it's head.

At the other side of the large open room behind some rather large machinery, Ash and May stood side by side admiring the equipment.

"OHMYGOSH!" May exclaimed.

"Wow, what could all this stuff be for?!" Ash added while drooling at all the nice shiny equipment.

The two stared in awe at two sets of mechanical arms as they continued putting together metal cylinders at a fast speed.

"I bet you can make your breakfast really fast with a pair of these robot arms!" Ash bemused while gawking at the invention.

"Or better yet just imaging getting a massage from these arms. After my back aches from walking so much I would love to program these arms to give me a little relief," May said eagerly while putting her pointer finger to her lips.

"Heh, imagine if you could get these things to tie your shoes for you?" Ash added.

"Or even comb your hair? One arm would hold the brush and the other the hair dryer!" May said placing her hands on her cheeks blushing heavily over her own comment.

The two young teens continued to look in awe as if they were two kids in a candy store.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it ran toward it's trainer.

"Ash!" Brock shouted.

"May!" Max added.

Ash and May turned around to see Pikachu, Brock and Max run up to them.

Max scolded his sister, "Why did you walk all the way over here? Didn't you hear when he told us to sit still? We're in enough trouble as it is!"

"I agree, you two pretty much disappeared in an instant," Brock said.

"Oh please, Max," an annoyed May bended over toward her little brother while putting her hands on her hips, "We just wanted to take a closer look at all of this stuff. We're not causing any trouble."

"I'm sure the old guy didn't literally mean for us to sit on the couch," Ash added, "Besides, I've never seen stuff this cool in my life!"

May turned around, holding her hips back to the robotic arms. She stared at their motion again as her eyes began to water with excitement. She then turned around before leaning her arm against the table in which the arms took the metal cylinders from.

"You know Max, I think you need to stop being such a goody-too-shoes," she said sarcastically.

Off of Max's angry reaction, May accidentally leaned her arms back which knocked over a group of cylinders.

"May watch what you're doing!" Ash shouted.

"Oh damn," May muttered as she frantically began to stack every last cylinder back in it's place.

Just as she began to pick up the last one and place it with the others, the pair of robotic arms gripped onto the back of her shirt while she was leaning over the table!

"What the!" May exclaimed as she felt herself being lifted in the air.

"You know, I think we should have listened to you two," Ash confessed to Brock and Max as he covered his face with embarrassment.

"Gah! Why don't you guys try to get me down!" May shouted as the two robotic arms began to swing her back and forth.

Due to May's weight and the arms erratic movement, the machinery began to malfunction. Metal cylinders continued to fall off the conveyor belt toward the arms, but instead of the arms picking up the cylinders they continued to fall and roll over the table instead.

"GUYS!" May shouted frantically.

The left arm was holding her from her white skirt while the right arm gripped the back of her red shirt. The arms continued moving in a circular motion with May along with it.

"Ash, Brock you got to get my sister down! These cylinders are falling off the table and onto the floor here," Max cried.

Brock motioned for Ash to follow him in order to reach May who was hung a few feet above the table. They walked their way around the falling metal cylinders as they tried to reach up to pull May down.

Ash reached up and grabbed May's arms while Brock pulled on her legs in the opposite direction. The mechanical arms still held onto the back of May's skirt and shirt respectively, as it continued moving her in an erratic manner.

May's eyes broadened in frustration and pain as three forces were pulling on her in opposite directions. The fabric of her skirt and shirt were being pulled upward which nearly began to tear, while her friends had a firm grip on the other two ends of her body.

"You guys are going to pull me to pieces!" May screamed.

"Errgh…let go of her!" Ash cried as he continued pulling May's arms with all his might.

Brock tried to brace himself by placing his foot on the table while pulling on May's legs. Apparently neither was strong enough to remove her from the arms grip.

Suddenly, an idea popped into May's head.

"Ash, quick, let go of me!" May said as she watched him continue to pull her forward.

"Wha?" Ash asked as he loosened his grip on May's arms.

As soon as May's arms were free from Ash's grip, she tried to reach back to her fannypack to pull out a Pokeball.

"May, what are you doing?" Ash asked.

May didn't answer but continued to struggle to open her pocket. After a few attempts she was lucky enough to open her top pocket and pulled out the first Pokeball she could grab.

"This will do, come out!" May cried as she threw the Pokeball ahead of her.

As the flash of the light formed into a strong burly Pokemon known as Combusken, Brock let go of her legs as he realized what she was up to.

"Combusken, Sky Uppercut!" she commanded.

"Sceptile we need you too, use Leaf Blade!" Ash commanded as he threw out his Pokeball.

The large grass lizard appeared next to Combusken as it scratched it's chin. The two Pokemon suddenly leaped up toward the mechanical arms and pulled back their bodies to unleash an attack. Combusken pulled back it's right arm in order to give a devastating blow to the left mechanical arm, while Sceptile's arm glowed a bright green color and attacked the right arm.

May looked up frantically as both Pokemon continued to pound away at the two arms. As both attacks were hitting in succession, the sturdy robotic arms began to weaken by it's upper limbs.

"That's it, keep pounding away!" May exclaimed.

With one last cry, Sceptile's and Combusken's attacks weakened the arms so much that the weight of May's body snapped the hands off the upper half. Without warning, May fell five feet onto the table below. Sceptile and Combusken had landed on the ground next to Ash, Max and Brock.

A small tear formed in the upper right corner of May's eyes as the impact of the fall really hurt her face and chest. She lifted herself up with her arms until she noticed the table was wobbling. Suddenly, the table could no longer handle so much on top of it as it lop sided over and May fell down onto the floor.

The others watched as a very frustrated May began to lift herself up off the floor, only to end up slipping on one of the metal cylinders on the ground.

"Gah!" May shouted as she fell down on her butt.

"May, are you alright?" Ash asked.

"Jeez, Ash! What does it look like?" May snarled at him.

She stood up again as the machine on the right continued sending one metal cylinder after another off the conveyor belt and onto the fallen table.

"Will someone turn this damn thing off already?!" May shouted.

Suddenly May turned to Sceptile and Combusken in a rage.

"You two, get this machine to stop throwing these things here, now!" she demanded as she was completely enraged.

Sceptile and Combusken took a brief glance at each other before listening to May. Sceptile opened it's mouth to fire several pellets known as the attack Bullet Seed, while Combusken shot out a breath of fire. Both attacks intertwined with one another and hit the conveyor belt sending down the metal cylinders.

As the attacks struck, the machine ending up exploding sending the last remaining cylinders up in the air and toward the kids. The cylinders flew off the machine violently and started flying all over the room.

"Get down!" Max yelled as he jumped toward the ground placing his hands over his head.

"Oh jeez!" Brock yelled as he followed suit.

The two Pokemon ducked for cover behind another machine while May wasn't completely aware of what was going on. Without hesitation, Ash quickly pulled on May's right arm in order to get her to fall to the floor. Ash pulled her down to the ground and covered her back with his body in order to protect her while placing his hands on May's shoulders.

The group continued to listen while laying and covering their eyes on the ground as one last cylinder flew passed them and smacked into a wall.

The noise had stopped which gave them the impression that the machine had finally been destroyed. Ash opened his eyes and began to realize that he had placed his full body on the top of May's back in order to protect her. May felt the warmth of Ash's entire body as his lay perfectly symmetrical on top of hers.

"I think you can stop laying on top of me Ash," May said softly, turning her head back.

"Ok," Ash said, cracking a nervous smile as he began to lift himself off of her.

The group began to stand themselves up again as they dusted themselves off from the smoke and debris that had flown all over them. May coughed as she brushed the dust off of her skirt. Brock stretched his neck a bit and looked around him. Sceptile and Combusken walked back toward their respective trainers looking to see if they were alright.

The two machines that they had attacked were completely destroyed. Metal cylinders were scattered all over the floor. The two arms laid broke next to the fallen table. The machines around it continued to function but were filled with smoke from the vicinity. Shards of metal and glass littered the ground around them.

"Well…at least that's over with," Brock sighed in relief.

"Thanks for helping me, Ash, although you could have gotten me down from that robotic thing a bit sooner," May said, crossing her arms.

Ash chuckled a bit to himself as he scratched the back of his head, a habit he had when he was nervous.

"At least we're through the worst of it," Ash stated.

Suddenly, the gang heard a door slam wide open from the other room.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT NOISE FROM!?" the professor exclaimed.

The professor had a change of clothes as he re-entered the room, he wore a blue sleeveless shirt with a collar follow by a pair of slacks and dark boots. He took one look around at his lab and saw two completely destroyed machines along the left wall and the floor scattered with debris.

"CAN'T I LEAVE YOU KIDS ALONE FOR A SECOND WITHOUT YOU BREAKING MORE OF MY STUFF?!" he screamed while his face beamed with anger.

Ash, May, Max and Brock stared at him a bit blankly as he walked over to them.

"Who is responsible for this?" he demanded.

In unison, Ash suddenly pointed toward May, while May pointed to Ash, while Brock and Max pointed to both of them while grinning nervously.

"It wasn't me!" the four of them answered in unison only to see each other pointing to other people.

"Scep," Sceptile smugly stated as he covered his face in embarrassment.

Ash and May noticed Max and Brock pointed toward them.

"Uh…I don't suppose we can make this up, eh?" Ash said politely, lowering his arm.

"Yeah, after all you can just build these machines over again…right?" May added rubbing her hands together nervously.

The elderly man raised an eyebrow.

"Can somebody please explain to me why I've been caused nothing but grief by you kids in just the ten minutes I've known you?!" he asked as he shook his head.

May quickly replied, "Well everyone has their bad days every once in awhile right?!"


	3. Listening and taking turns can be fun!

**Zero:Hello World and people that live in it!**

**Aj:Yeah hi.**

**Zero:Where you ethusmic personality?**

**Aj:YOU'RE UPDATED TOO MUCH!**

**Zero:Isn't that a good think?**

**Aj:Yeah I guess**

**Zero:I do NOT own pokemon If I did the world will be happy.**

**Aj:True dat**

 

* * *

 

**C** **hapter 3** **"Listening and taking turns can be fun!"**

 

 

The professor had invited his "guests" into his living quarters of his lab. He had a fairly moderate sized room to sleep in, eat in, read in, and do whatever the normal populace would do in their time off. The sounds of machinery from the lab could only be faintly heard in his living quarters, which gave him the peace and quiet he needed. There were a few gadgets and gizmos lined about along his shelves, most of them resembled metallic shaped guns, but Ash and the gang didn't think much of it as they glanced about them. The professor had calmed down a bit and had decided to fill them in on what exactly he does for a living. First however, it was business as usual.

"10,000 dollars," the professor stated.

"Ten thousand?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Yep…that just about covers everything you broke since you've gotten here," the man said nonchalantly, checking his fingernails while resting in his armchair.

"You're serious, aren't you?" an astonished May asked.

"Sure am," the man said, taking out a fingernail clipper from his pants pocket.

"I can't believe he's going to make us pay for everything," Max said uncertainly, looking up at his older sister.

Brock stepped forward, "But sir, can't you see that most of us are just kids? You can't expect us to have that kind of money."

The professor started clipping his fingernails while talking, "I assume you kids have parents, do you not? You didn't just appear on the street one day out of nowhere, I'm sure of it. "

The gang stared at him confused with a bit of anxiety, as they watched each finger nail fly in the air after being cut.

"You want our parents to pay for your stuff?" Ash asked.

"Well that would be obvious, would it not? If you don't have the money yourselves, you have family I assume," the man said still clipping away at his nails, "Let's see now…"

The man put down the fingernail clipper on the small wooden table next to his chair. He raised out his fingers and began counting down on each them, "One was for the glass window that I had smashed by such a charming young man, two was for making me get my lab coat on fire thus completely ruining it…"

Max cut him off, "But we didn't get your coat on fire, you did it!"

"True I suppose," the man replied, "But had you kids not come into my house I wouldn't have caught the fire on my lab coat. It's all a chain reaction you see…you break my window…you come inside by lab…and you cause me to get myself caught on fire…and as I was saying before, the third and most expensive item being my mechanical arms and conveyor belts, thus ruining one of my experiments. Lots of money went into building that equipment you know."

"But…" Max tried to say.

May put her hand on her brothers' head and motioned for him to be quiet. A timid Max looked up at his sister and noticed that she was as nervous as he was. Ash took a glance at the two frightened siblings and decided to approach the man once more.

"How about we work for you to pay off the debt, like you asked us to before?" Ash asked, the rest of the group glaring at him.

"Hmmm…you'd be working for an awful long time you know," the man said, scratching his chin.

"Listen," Brock added, "We're very sorry for what we did, but can you at least tell us what you even do here? We'd be willing to pay our debt…but heck…we don't even know your name for one thing!"

"I thought I told you my name…but ah never mind…that was my name from 10 minutes ago," the professor replied.

"Eh?" Ash muttered.

"My name now is "Mr. Lenient", and I'm willing to go easy on you since you're such a swell bunch of kids."

"So…we don't have to pay…or work?" May asked, putting her hand up by her face.

"To some extent yes, but I believe I should tell you what my lab is about," he stated.

"Good, it's only reasonable for us to be curious," Brock said nicely, attempting to smooth talk the man.

"NOW THEN!" the professor suddenly shouted as he slammed his hand down on the table.

The four kids jumped in the shock of the noise.

The man looked as if he was confused, "Let's see…what were we talking about again?"

"Uh, you were explaining to us what you do in your lab?" Ash reminded him.

"OH that's right! Thank you young man!" he replied.

The professor stood up from his chair, "If you must know, I work as a researcher for Devon corp, you may have heard of them."

"Hey, we were there!" Max said happily.

"Yeah, didn't we go there back when we were in Rustboro City in Hoenn, Ash?" May asked.

"Yeah, we met the President of Devon corp and everything," Ash said happily.

"Oh so you DO know them. That is just swell. You kids are such a lovely bunch," The man said slyly as he looked over at May. "Your friend here is quite the looker."

"Wuh?" May said as she felt herself blush.

The professor then looked over at Ash, "You sure can pick them kiddo. This girl is really quite a prize, you must have good taste in women."

"Wait, I think you got it wrong a bit. May is just a really good friend," Ash said reluctantly.

May moved her arms over her chest awkwardly. Her voice trembled as she said, "Yeah, Ash is my…"

"Oh really, does that mean the girl is free then? I know a couple of young fellows at town who have been looking for a nice innocent young girl for a while," he said rubbing his chin.

"Weren't you in the middle of telling us about your job?" Brock quickly interrupted.

"Yeah and besides that, May's not for sale," Ash said in a stern voice.

May glanced at Ash and smiled off of his remark. "Thanks Ash," she said to herself, proud of the fact that he stood up for her.

"Relax, I was just kidding," the man said waving his arms cheerfully. "There's too much tension in this room, it was time to lighten the mood!"

May walked over to Ash and decided to stand with the right side of her body behind him, as it made her feel more secure when the man was talking. Ash noticed her standing beside him, and cracked a gentle smile at her.

"Anyway, as you know Devon Corp. studies all sorts of things. From fossils of prehistoric Pokemon, to new and improved Pokeballs, and to various technology that will help shape our future. I'm one of the many professors who live around the region apart from the main Devon offices, as I do field work with Pokemon as well as sending various cargo from my lab to ships at the port. Being the genius that I am, I have those mechanical arms in my lab which helps do my work for me. Unfortunately one of my mechanical arms broke due to circumstances beyond my control…" he stated.

Ash and May grinned nervously knowing that he emphasized the pair of mechanical arms that they broke earlier.

Off their reactions the professor smiled and continued, "But I still have many more of those arms around the lab that continue to hasten production and help me finish my orders quicker than ever before. Some of them have a few kinks to work out, but that's besides the point."

"Hmmm…if you don't mind me asking," Brock asked curiously, "Does this place send the equipment to other Devon facilities around the region?"

"Yep, you're right. Give this man a silver dollar because he hit the nail on the head!" the professor said boastfully, "I'm merely one of Devon's oldest employees who helps manufacture many goods for the company."

"Uh, if you work for Devon then don't they give you those robot arms? I mean, why should we have to pay for something from your company?" Max asked.

"Max!" May scolded while still standing partly behind Ash.

"Gee…I was just asking." Max said sarcastically.

"My my, aren't you the little prodigy?" the professor exclaimed, "Yes you're right, I should be able to easily get another shipment of those arms from Devon…but that'll take about a week or more to get here. In the meantime, I have to do all that work by hand and that won't be pretty."

"So then why did you want to charge us for the arms?" Brock demanded.

"BECAUSE….kids these days need discipline! You can't expect to go away scot-free when destroying another persons' property now can you?" the professor replied.

"So then what ARE you going to have us do?" May asked as she rested her left hand on Ash's shoulder for reassurance.

"Well your boyfriend here brought up the idea of working for me," the elderly man coyly stated.

"Didn't I already tell you that I'm just her friend?" Ash said quickly to avoid embarrassment.

"Well sure…but it looks like your girl likes to rest herself beside you a whole lot," he said slyly.

May's eyes opened wide as she quickly let go of Ash's shoulder and moved her body away from his.

She said feverishly, "I was only a bit nervous that's all. When you started talking about working and paying, I went to my friend because I wanted to know what he thought about the situation…."

May felt her face getting red, as she said softly lowering her face, "I didn't realize I was leaning myself against him."

"Aw, that's sweet how she looks up to you, Mr. Hero," the man said coyly at Ash.

Ash's right eyebrow raised but he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Are you really that concerned about our relationship with one another?" Brock snapped, "Instead of talking about that, why don't you just explain to us what we should do to pay for this debt?"

"PUSHY PUSHY are we? OK OK, as I said before my name is "Mr Lenient." I'm willing to go easy on you kids, just to reiterate," he said in a loud voice.

"This guy says the same things over and over again, doesn't he?" Ash whispered to May. She nodded in agreement.

"That's good," Max said quietly hoping for the best.

"How's about this then?" the man said pacing the floors, "It will take about a week for the shipment of a pair of mechanical arms to come in. In the meantime, you can work for me on various chores to pay off your debt."

The groups' faces began to light up in relief.

"Aaaaaaaaaaand….I'll forget all about the $10,000 you owe me. Heck, I won't even charge you for the window. 7 days total, about 5 hours a day of work, and I won't even report the vandalism. Now, how does that sound?"

"That…sounds great," Ash said, relieved.

"Hmmm….it does sound like a pretty good deal myself," Brock said, sizing up the situation.

"Cool, what do you think May?" Max asked his sister.

May staggered a bit nervously as she wasn't fully paying attention, "Oh what?! Oh…uh yeah that IS great. Thank you "Mr. Lenient!" Thank you a lot!"

"Anytime my dear," the professor responded, "Now you kids can sleep in the guest room if you like, and for now you can wander off doing whatever you do in your free time, I won't put you to work until tomorrow. After all, you'll need plenty of sleep for the next day!"

With that the professor opened the door which led back to his lab, he started walking out before he suddenly forgot something and poked his head back in the room.

"Oh and one more thing….PLEASE don't break anything else while you're here? It would make me really, really upset. OK?" he said politely.

"Sure!" Ash smiled.

The man nodded and closed the door.

"Phew…that's over with," Ash said gasping a bit.

May walked over to the armchair and sat herself down. She looked exhausted as she stretched out her legs and arms.

"How do we get ourselves into these messes?" she asked.

"Heh, I'm going to go explore the rest of the lab. It's better than just sitting around here at any rate. The professor didn't say anything about food though, I hope he's going to get us some things to eat. Anyway, anyone want to come with me?" Brock asked.

"Oooh…I do! I want to see some of those other robot arms, they looked so cool!" Max said exuberantly raising his hand.

"Food…?" May uttered as a thought registered in her head. "OH that's right!" she continued as she jumped up.

"What?" Ash asked her.

"The strawberry shortcake, that's what, silly!" she said happily as she clasped her hands.

"That slipped my mind, the game, you won fair and square, May," Ash said.

Ash took off his backpack and took out the piece of cake which was carefully covered in a napkin. He brought it to a long table that was a few feet away from them.

"Yay! I can't believe I almost forgot about eating this!" May said cheerfully as she took out a plastic fork from her fanny pack.

"C'mon Brock, let's go already!" Max said impatiently.

"Oh, ok, see you guys in a bit!" Brock called out to May and Ash.

Brock and Max began to exit the room as May leaped toward the table and quickly pulled out a chair to sit on. Pikachu jumped toward the armchair and started to curl up to rest.

"OMG THIS IS GOING TO TASTE SO GOOD! I love strawberry shortcake!" she said as she prepared to dig in with her fork.

Just as she was about to stick the fork in the cake she noticed that Ash was standing next to her. May looked up and saw Ash's mouth watering. He looked as if he was completely famished and was dying to eat a piece of the cake.

"Uh…Ash? You're drooling on me," May smiled.

"Eh, sorry about that…I'm just remembering how good that cake tasted when we were having it for lunch," Ash said shyly.

May took a glance back at the cake and then looked back up at her friend.

"Do you want a piece?" she asked.

"It…it wouldn't be right. You won it fair and square, you can have it. Besides, it's already a pretty small piece to begin with," he said quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you can eat it. I won't mind," Ash said as he started drooling while staring at the slice of cake again.

May's face beamed.

"Sit down, Ash," May instructed as she pulled a chair next to her.

"Huh?"

"I know you want some, I'm willing to share. Besides, I want to thank you for what you said earlier. The professor is a bit creepy, don't you think?"

"I guess I can see what you mean. He does seem a bit….odd."

May put her hand over the empty chair and rubbed it to tell Ash to sit down, "C'mon, I'll give you some!"

Ash chuckled and sat down next to her. The small slice of strawberry shortcake sat there on the unfolded napkin on the table. Both Ash and May took a glace at it and looked as if it was the greatest thing anyone could eat in the world.

"Wait a minute…we only have one fork," Ash said.

"Oh yeah, just this plastic one," May said as she twirled the fork in her hands.

"Hmmm," Ash thought to himself.

"Wanna use the same fork?" May asked.

"Really?"

"Sure, we'll take turns eating, kind of like a game. I'll take one piece of cake off with the fork and eat it, and then I hand the fork to you and then you take a piece and eat it. Sounds fun?" May giggled as she looked at her friend.

"Awesome, what are we waiting for?" Ash asked in anticipation.

With that being said, May cut off a small piece of cake and brought the fork to her mouth. After she swallowed, she handed the fork to Ash and watched as he took off a piece and tasted it. The two of them delightfully continued to take turns, each breaking off only the smallest piece of cake so that they wouldn't eat too much and leave too little for their friend respectively.

May would occasionally get nervous and drop the fork on the table from switching too much. Ash watched as she put the fork in her mouth, and he could hardly sit still while waiting for her to hand him the fork so he could get the next piece. Not a word did either speak, the only sound that could be heard is low giggling and the sound from tasting the cake. Side by side they sat, sharing the same fork and eating what little cake there was left in fruition.


	4. Is age creeping up on you?

**Zero:I am updating alot aren't I?**

**Aj: Yes let move on.**

**Zero: To what?**

**Mike: The story**

**Zero: OHH and Welcome Back Mike!**

**Aj: How was mom's punishment?**

**Mike: She making me clean the Pokepoop and the house after Saturday night......**

**Aj:HAHAH**

**Zero: Starting**

 

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 4**  
 **  
****"Is age creeping up on you?"**

 

 

A couple of hours passed in the blink of an eye. It was pitch dark outside with the only light coming in the building from the full moon. Most of the machines inside the lab had been shut down for the night. The lab was mostly silent now, with the only sounds coming from the guest room in which Ash and his friends were staying in.

There were only two beds in the guest room, which May and Max did not hesitate to claim as their own once they laid eyes on them. Ash and Brock were very understanding of their younger traveling companions, so they decided not to start an argument over who would sleep on the beds. Ash and Brock pulled out their sleeping bags from Ash's backpack and laid them down next to the beds. May's bed was on the left closest to the wall, followed by Ash and Brock sleeping in their own sleeping bags in the middle, with Max's bed being on the far right next to the window. Pikachu slept on top of Max's bed by the end so it wouldn't disturb the boy while he was sleeping. Their room was dimly lit by a table lamp behind Ash and Brock's sleeping bags.

Ash and his friends were already in their sleepwear and ready to call it a night. May was sitting upright in her bed with the covers over her legs. She was wearing her light yellow t-shirt which stuck tightly to her body, along with light blue shorts. Ash was resting in his sleeping bag with his hands supporting his head. He was resting in his black orange striped t-shirt, as his sweatshirt was placed on top of his bag which was placed against a table. Brock, who was wearing his green t-shirt, was sitting up in his sleeping bag combing his hair with a plastic comb. Max had already fallen sound asleep in his bed with his body turned toward the window.

Ash turned to Brock, "Why are you combing your hair? It's only going to get messed up when you sleep anyway."

"Well I have to make sure I look good just in case I meet a pretty girl in one of my dreams," Brock said as he finished combing his hair.

"Oh brother," May sighed as she rolled her eyes.

The professor opened the door to the guest room to say goodnight to his guests before he turned in himself. The professor was in blue pajamas with a sleeping cap on, along with rather loose-fitting blue slippers. He held a candleholder with a lit candle stick, which lit up the room as he entered.

He looked at his guests jovially as they were just about ready to get some sleep. Ash, May and Brock smiled at the professor as he entered the room.

"It's 11:30p.m., I hope you kids get some good rest tonight as you'll be pushing plenty of boxes tomorrow morning," he said quietly.

"No problem, Professor, I can barely keep my eyes opened already," Ash said, yawning.

May naively added, "Thanks for the dinner you cooked us Mr. Lenient, I didn't know you were such a good cook."

"Truth is I'm not, my food usually tastes like crap. But hey, it's not like I normally have people to cook for," he responded.

Brock yawned as he laid himself down in his sleeping bag, "8 a.m. tomorrow, right doc?"

"Yes, yes. Just remember not to knock over anything in this room as you get up in the morning. That lamp over there is expensive you know." the professor said pointing toward it.

"Heehee, if I elbow the lamp in my sleep it'll fall right on Ash's head." May jested.

"Gee, thanks a lot. I better move my sleeping bag a bit forward and away from the table. I don't trust her now," Ash said sarcastically as he moved his sleeping bag a few inches forward.

"I'm being totally seriously you know. You know how I hate things of mine touched or well…broken. And you kids certainly do not have a good track record. Now start counting Mareeps already, or whatever you do to fall asleep," the professor said, scratching his right armpit.

The sounds of Max snoring gained the attention of everyone in the room.

"Looks like my brother has the right idea," May said looking over at Max snoring away in his bed.

Ash and Brock looked over at Max and smiled contently.

"Yeah, yeah. Why am I still standing in here anyway?" the professor asked himself.

He then took his fingers and covered the flame of the candle and walked toward the door. As he left the room, May slid down in her bed and rested her face on the pillow.

"Well tomorrow's our first day of work. How many days do we have to work for? 5…6…?" Ash wondered.

"Seven days," Brock stated.

"I hope he gives me light things to carry, I'm not made for manual labor," May said.

"That's interesting to hear, May, I'll probably tell the Professor to give you the heavy stuff on purpose then," Ash said looking over to his left.

"Ha, stop messing with me Ash," May snorted as she turned her head around to the other side to rest.

Ash stared back up at the ceiling while supporting his head with his hands. He still felt rather affectionate toward May since she shared that last piece of strawberry shortcake with him. He apparently noticed May felt the same way, as she started teasing him quite a bit for the rest of the day after they finished their cake. Ash started to close his eyes, preparing himself for days of work…

The next morning arrived as Ash and his friends were getting ready for the Professor to come into their room. Ash and Brock had already taken their showers, and were fully dressed waiting for May and Max.

In the bathroom, May was drying Max's hair with the hairdryer. Both were fully clothed and almost ready to head outside. She was holding him in place by combing his hair with her left hand while moving the hair dryer with her right.

"C'mon, May," Max frantically screamed while pushing his sisters hands away, "My hair is dry already! Let me go now!"

"Stay still," May reprimanded, "I'm not having my little brother walk around looking like a slob. Your hair is still standing up in the back here…time to wet it down!"

"Gah...c'mon!" Max said frustrated.

May then licked her fingers and placed them down on the strands of hair sticking up on Max's head. She then combed his hair down, a bit too harshly and forcefully, which caused her brother to scream.

"STOP ALREADY!" he yelled.

Ash and Brock looked toward the open bathroom door, smiling.

"Heh, poor Max," Brock said.

"Makes me happy that I don't have any siblings," Ash boasted cheerfully.

Max then ran out of the bathroom and stood next to Ash out of breath.

May walked out of the bathroom door to see her friends standing there looking at her. She was annoyed as she put her hands on her hips and walked toward her brother.

"It's bad enough that I have to make sure you take a bath everyday, it's even worse that you still don't comb your own hair!" May scolded her brother.

"Oh forget it, sis, I'll comb my hair on my own someday," Max said, clinging to Ash's leg.

"Ah, the trials of an older sister. I like it," Brock said, scratching his chin.

"He acts like it's such a big deal," May said bragging, "I started taking care of myself when I was seven!"

"So that's only one year younger than I am now! Besides, I know Mom used to comb your hair too sometimes," Max said defensively, letting go of Ash's leg.

"That only happened when my hair got frizzy," a snooty May replied.

"You must have been really independent when you were younger, eh May?" Ash asked.

"Sure. I had to since well…I grew up rather eh…quickly…" May blushed.

"Yeah, my sister was too embarrassed having Mom bathe her when she already looked older herself. I remember Mom talking to her about some kind of changes girls go through…"

"MAX!" May interrupted.

"What?" Max asked naively.

"So I matured quickly and got a head start on most other girls my age, big deal! It's not like you have to tell Ash and Brock that," May said cocking her head.

"Uh…" Ash muttered.

Brock smiled as if he tried to pretend that he didn't know what May was talking about.

Suddenly, the door slammed wide open and almost knocked Ash and Max down as they were right in front of it.

"WELL HELLLOOOOOOOOOO CHILDREN!" the Professor shouted dubiously.

"Uh…hi." May grinned, waving her hand.

"Happy day! Today is the day I put you kids into hours of painstakingly harsh and cruel child labor!" he stated with a huge smile.

The group stared at him with blank expressions.

"Hoo! Just kidding my little buddies," the Professor laughed, patting his belly.

"Great, so what's first?" Ash asked enthusiastically.

20 minutes later, Ash regretted asking the Professor for work so nicely. He was gripping onto two huge boxes stacked on top of each other which was filled with machinery. Ash's back was stretched back due to how heavy the weight was.

"Gah…just got to carry this a…little…further…" he said grinding his teeth.

An out of breath Pikachu walked next to him carrying its own little box.

"The-----re," Ash gasped as he placed both boxes on the ground.

Pikachu then placed it's little box on top of the big ones.

Ash leaned against the two boxes and wiped the sweat off his forehead, "Gee, this guy is going to work us to death."

Ash then felt the boxes being picked up behind him which almost made him fall over as he was leaning against them.

"Whoa…" he gasped as he stepped away from the boxes.

Another set of mechanical arms picked up the two boxes and placed it on a conveyor belt behind them.

"The Professor has so many of these arms, too bad the one we broke happened to be in the area that needs the most shipments. Jeez," Ash sighed.

Pikachu tried to reason with its trainer as it patted his leg, "Pikapi".

"Well…might as well go get the next two boxes," Ash said reluctantly.

Ash walked into the next room and saw May mopping the floors.

"May, you really lucked out with such an easy job!" Ash exclaimed.

"Are you kidding? Did you know what I was doing before he told me to mop the floors?" May said out of breath.

"Let me guess, he had you wash his dishes?"

"NO! He had me going up 20-foot ladders carrying a huge sack of machinery on a bag tied around my back. The weight of that machinery almost pulled my back down and nearly had me tip over on the ladder! Good thing I only had to do that once though before he told me to mop the floors. Too bad now that I'm done mopping the floors I gotta go lift some more boxes again….ugh," May sighed.

"Wow, that is something."

"Excuse my language but I felt like I was carrying a huge sack of crap," May said, resting the mop against the wall.

"I guess there's a lesson in this somewhere," Ash said as he walked with May across the room.

"Let me guess, don't throw frisbees' into some guy's window and then break a pair of robot arms? Yeah, I got that," May said smiling at her friend.

"You know, I don't think we ever found out the Professor's name," Ash realized.

"Mr. Lenient is good enough. Besides, I don't even think he knows OUR names!"

"We never told him, May?"

"Not as far as I remember. Kind of funny when you think about it. We're working for a guy we don't even know, and he's making us work when he doesn't even know who we are!" May said.

Ash, May and Pikachu continued walking next to each other until they came upon a hallway with glass windows. Ash and May looked through the glass windows which showed the main floor below them. The main floor had all the machinery and mechanical arms that they saw when they first entered the lab. May continued looking aimlessly until she caught eye of her brother.

"What!?" May shouted.

"Huh?"

"My brother, look what he's going!" May pointed.

Ash looked through the window at Max. Max was running along the conveyor belts laughing while placing small metal cylinders into their respective holes. Ash noticed that Max seemed to really enjoy what he was doing, as he seemed to think running along moving conveyor belts was fun.

Max jumped off the conveyor belt and grabbed a whole bunch of metal cylinders from an open cardboard box. He zipped over to a pair of mechanical arms and starting handing the cylinders to both hands.

"Here you go hand #1!" Max said laughing as he placed a cylinder in the left hand.

"And here you go hand #2!" he continued placing the cylinder in the other hand.

The mechanical arm then took both cylinders and placed it into a metal machine behind it. Max continued giving the hands all the cylinders he was holding with a huge smile on his face.

"Oh great, I'm here straining my back and my brother thinks this is an amusement park!" May said fatigued.

"Wow that DOES look like fun. I want to do that!" an excited Ash said.

"You know one of these days I'm going to figure out how my brother gets all the easy ways out," May contemplated.

"C'mon," Ash said quietly, reassuring her by placing his hand on her shoulder, "Let's go get those next boxes together. I'm sure it won't be as bad if two people were carrying the weight instead of just one."

May smiled, "You're right, even though it'll probably take twice as long since you have to go back and carry your stuff too."

The two of them and Pikachu continued walking out of the hallway and down a stairway.

"I'd give anything to be a little kid again," May said, walking down the steps with Ash and Pikachu behind her.

"Jealous of your brother I see?" Ash snickered.

"Oh be quiet. You wouldn't know as you have no siblings," May replied.

"Yeah, but I can imagine it."

"I think I'm growing up too quickly, Ash….I barely remember what it was like being a kid and I'm going to already be a teen in a few years. And then I'll just get older and older and start getting wrinkles and whatever else happens to old people. Hmmm, maybe I have a wrinkle already," May said depressed.

"Don't worry, you look really cute the way you are now," Ash complimented.

"Really?" May glanced at Ash smiling, as she stroked her hair.

"Well…uh…I mean you look nice of course…maybe cute was too strong a word," Ash said coughing.

May's eyebrows lowered as they exited the stairway, "Maybe nice was too weak a word."

They continued walking along a white hallway on the main floor which led to the Professor's living quarters.

"Maybe you're trying to ask me something?" Ash said slyly.

"Maybe I am," May replied.

"Or maybe you're still annoyed that you have to work for another six days yet," Ash stated.

"That may be correct. And maybe we better stop talking and get back to work now that I think about it."

"That's a lot of "maybe's." Ash said glancing at May.

May giggled as they came upon the door to the living quarters. Ash pushed it opened as May and Pikachu walked behind them.

"The Professor said that there are more unopened boxes here in the back closet," Ash said.

"Go bring them out, I need to rest a bit," an exhausted May said as she plopped herself down on the Professor's favorite armchair.

Ash sighed as he walked toward the closet and began to rummage through the stuff inside. May stretched out her legs as her eyes began to wander around the room. Her eyes then caught glimpse of a couple of metallic gun-esque looking items along the upper shelves of the room. She remembered glancing at those objects when they first entered the Professor's living quarters yesterday, but this was the first time she got a really good look at them.

"Those look like some crazy futuristic gun thingies that you would find in a sci-fi movie. I wonder if those are real or not," May said to herself.

Ash continued looking through the closet as he found the box he was looking for. He then opened it and looked for what he needed inside.

May's curiosity got the best of her as she got up and walked toward the shelf with two metallic high-tech guns on top of it. The gun on the right grabbed May's attention, as it had a futuristic platinum handle, but with a dish like antenna on the end. It had no trigger on it however, which made it seem like a device for something rather than a gun.

"Hmmmm," May said looking at the device on the right, "That looks like a ray gun of some sort…but the professor wouldn't keep anything dangerous like this laying about in the open would he?"

Despite her better judgment, May lifted the right platinum toned gun off the shelf. She then held the device in her hands examining it from all sides. There was nothing to press or hold down on the entire device except a small red button on the inner handle. May continued to examine it as Ash came back out from the closet, dragging out a huge cardboard box filled with machinery. Ash noticed May holding something as he walked up to her.

"Where'd you get that?" Ash asked.

"It was up along the wall, it looks like a device of some sort, doesn't it?" May asked.

"I guess so, it kinda looks like a toy, but I wouldn't do anything with it as we don't know what it's for," Ash said.

"Hm, you're right. I might as well put this back before I accidentally break it and the Professor yells at me," May sneered.

"Yeah, then he'll really be on our case again," Ash said putting his hands on his hips.

May stood up on her toes and reached up with her hand to place the device back on the shelf. May pushed the gun back but ended up pushing it to the right opened side of the shelf too much, which made it fall down onto the floor!

"Oh crap!" May exclaimed.

"Nice going, I hope it isn't broken," Ash added.

As May was about to reach down to pick it up she noticed the dish of the gun began to glow a yellow hue.

"Huh?" May said as she kneeled before it.

Pikachu stood on the armchair, watching what was happening from a distance.

"That ray…it's getting brighter!" Ash said astonished, as he stood behind May.

Suddenly, the yellow hue began to shine across the dish of the gun, as it began emancipating light toward May and Ash.

"Ugh, that light is bright," May staggered, shielding her eyes.

The sides of the dish began to completely light up now, as it fired a beam of light directly at Ash and May!

"Ah!" Ash and May exclaimed as the light completely engulfed them.

A worried Pikachu shouted, "PIKA PIKACHU!"

After a few more seconds, the light then began to fade as the gun seemed like it was shutting down. Pikachu was finally able to see again as the light had been so bright that it also needed to shield it's eyes.

Pikachu looked ahead and didn't see Ash and May's bodies! It jumped off the armchair and looked ahead as the dust cleared. It then saw that there were two bodies there…and they were Ash and May…but they were….smaller…and looked younger…

Pikachu then gasped as it finally saw the effects of the ray gun…

…Ash and May had been turned into year old infants!


	5. "Chibi war!"

**Zero: Good Morning! or what ever time you are reading this!**

**Aj: You woke me up in the morning for this?!!?**

**Zero:Maybe....**

**Aj: God Just... ZerocielX doesn't own pokemon.**

**Zero: LETS-**

***background*: SHUT UP!**

**Zero: Ok *whispers* Lets start the chapter!**

* * *

 

 **Chapter 5** **"** **Chibi** **war!"**

 

Pikachu gasped again as it couldn't believe its eyes. Sitting in front of it were Ash and May as year old infants. For some odd reason, their clothes shrank with them as well. Their clothes fit their infant like bodies just as well as it did before, causing no trouble for the youngsters to move.

Ash sat upright with his legs forward. His face was chubbier and fuller than it was before. His hair stuck out in the same directions only thinner in design. His skin was lighter toned as well. His body had more baby fat but he still looked relatively thin.

May shared many of the same characteristics as Ash had. Her face consisted of more baby fat, and her hair cascaded down her face rather than sticking out to the sides like her older self. She had red, rosy cheeks under her rather large sapphire eyes.

Resembling year old infants instead of newborns, Ash and May could still do many things that other year old babies could do. They could crawl, attempt to stand, express emotion, reach for objects, play with toys, clap, and even laugh and giggle. However, it became apparent that while Ash and May's minds were de-aged, they still had some inkling as to who they were. They couldn't remember how to speak, where they were, or have any memory of their respective lives and adventures. But they did seem to faintly remember familiar people and objects, as not all had been lost during this predicament.

Ash and May looked wide-eyed around the room as they tried to comprehend where they were. The first thing Ash did was pull on his hat. Apparently, infant Ash didn't like the feeling of a hat on his head, as he struggled to pull on the brim of the hat.

May was sitting on her knees, watching Ash tug on his cap. She glanced down on her skirt which covered her shorts. The white color seemed to stand out to her, as she started pulling on her skirt with both her small chubby hands.

Ash was getting a little frustrated with himself, as the cute baby tugged as hard as his little arms could to try and take off the hat. His mouth opened wide as his teeth grinded each other in his struggle. Finally the hat came loose and the baby managed to pull it off. Ash held onto the brim and looked at the upside down hat. His face was full of curiosity, as he stared blankly into the open space of the hat.

May picked her head up from pulling on her skirt and saw Ash holding his cap. May expressed a giggle watching her friend. She seemed to recall him, as a familiar feeling of trust and friendship washed over her as she stared at him.

Ash glanced up at her and threw his hat to the side. This made her giggle again. The boy smiled as she also felt familiar to him, he felt attached to her as if they were bound together by warmth and familiarity.

Pikachu finally snapped out of its gaze and ran up to the two infants. Ash and May stared up at Pikachu, curiously.

"Pika pika…pika Pi!" Pikachu said astonished while waving it's arms.

Ash and May quickly turned to each other as they expressed sounds in their own baby language. They both got on their knees and started crawling toward Pikachu. Ash and May had huge smiles across their faces as they started touching Pikachu with their grubby hands.

Ash rested one hand on Pikachu's red cheek as the other touched his ear. May crawled behind Pikachu and place her hands on the top of it's head. Pikachu stood still as it didn't want to suddenly scare the two infants, but it tried to console and be gentle with them. Ash and May laughed as they continued petting and pulling on Pikachu from all sides.

"Googah!" May expressed with joy as she closed her eyes and moved her hands across Pikachu's head.

Pikachu gently smiled and muttered, "Piiiika."

Ash suddenly pulled harshly on Pikachu's right ear.

"PIKA!" Pikachu shouted in pain.

The Pokemon then quickly moved itself out of Ash's grip. May almost fell forward as she was leaning on Pikachu's back. Ash's most trusted Pokemon looked at the two infants with disbelief. It knew it had to get help.

May cocked her head toward Ash's, and with her hand she gently pushed across his check. Ash just sat there staring blankly at Pikachu as May curiously continued to press on Ash's check with her fingers.

Pikachu finally thought up a plan. It motioned with its hands to stay still, as it needed to run to get help.

"Pikaaa, pika!" it said gently trying to tell Ash and May not to go anywhere.

May, without reason, continued pushing on Ash's check while the two of them looked forward at Pikachu. May was on her knees pushing herself forward while Ash didn't budge an inch, as he didn't seem to care that May was leaning against him.

Pikachu quickly turned around and started running out of the room while turning back to make sure that Ash and May weren't going anywhere. Once it saw that May and Ash were too preoccupied touching each other, it quickly turned its head and ran out of the room. Pikachu ran as fast as it could across the hallway, hoping to find Brock, Max or the Professor and ask for help.

In the living quarters, the two infants continued to play with each other, giggling by pushing each other over. May started pulling on the hood of Ash's sweatshirt from behind, in which Ash started making humorous choking sounds. Two tears formed in Ash's eyes as he felt himself being pulled backward. May pulled so hard that Ash ended up falling backward onto her lap. The small infant had his head on her lap looking up at her blankly. The girl however didn't stop, as she continued pulling as hard as she could on the hood. Ash couldn't take it anymore as he tried to pull the bottom of his sweatshirt up in the same direction that May pulled it. The young infant started crying as he couldn't get his head out of the hole of his sweatshirt. After a few rounds of tugging, the sweatshirt started to become loose, as May successfully pulled it off the infant and dropped it on the floor. Ash rubbed his eyes and sniveled a bit after the torment that his infant friend put him through. He noticed that he was now wearing a black shirt with an orange stripe. Ash sat up and poked at the orange stripe on his shirt before turning on his knees.

His attention quickly shifted, as he then started to crawl toward the door. May saw that her companion was leaving the room, and quickly started to crawl after him. The two infants were crawling out through the open door with nobody watching. Ash poked his head curiously in the hallway, and then turned right. May crawled right behind him, following his lead, as some instinct told her to stay close to him. Next to the railing they crawled, as the two infants looked off the railing at the noisy machines operating below.

May stopped in her tracks and gripped a hold of the railings to try and stand up. Her legs wobbled as she struggled to keep her balance. As she wrapped her hands around the railing bars tightly, infant May grinned and looked below. A very proud May started marching her feet against the floor. Unbeknownst to her, Ash continued crawling and didn't stop where she had. May noticed that her friend wasn't with her, as she frantically let go of the bars and started crawling to find him again. Her legs and arms pressed against the floor as fast as her little body would carry her.

"Goooggo!" she expressed as she tried looking for her friend.

She came across an open doorway in the hallway and to her surprise Ash was in the room! May giggled as she crawled into the room happy to be reunited with him.

Ash and May were in a small breakfast nook, with white toned walls and a single four legged table in the center of the room. The table wasn't too high up above the floor, as the legs only left the top of the table three feet above the floor. On the very edge of the table was a half-bitten chocolate chip cookie laying on top of a folded napkin. To the left of the room was a small refrigerator, as well as several stools along the sides of the walls that could be brought to the table.

Ash crawled toward the legs of the table eagerly. The small infant noticed the smell of a baked chocolate chip cookie which lay above. The infant curiously wanted to grab it, as he didn't quite know if it was food, he just wanted to hold it. May sat on her rear a few feet away as she watched if he could reach for his prize, as her wide opened sapphire eyes focused intently on Ash.

Ash gripped onto the leg and successfully managed to stand. Just like May was when she was leaning against the railing, Ash was quite wobbly on his legs. The young naïve boy looked up as the top of the table was too high for him to see the cookie up close. He bit his lower lip as he saw the edge of the napkin leaning off the table. Figuring that the cookie was probably resting on top of the napkin, Ash extended his little arms to the tip of the napkin. His fingers brushed across the edge of the napkin as he couldn't quite get a grip of it. May watched quietly and intently as if he was trying to perform an amazingly difficult feat.

Ash started whimpering as he still couldn't grab onto the napkin in which the cookie rested upon. In a rather sudden impulse, May shouted some baby gibberish to try and support Ash reaching the napkin. Ash stood on his tippy-toes and managed to grab the edge of the napkin as his face beamed with delight. With one tug of his hand he managed to pull the napkin off the table, but he pulled it too fast that only the napkin came falling down instead of the cookie, which continued to rest on top of the table. Ash fell down on his bottom as the huge folded napkin fell over his face.

"Heehee!" May giggled and clapped as she watched Ash sitting there with a napkin on top of his head.

The large napkin rested on top of him and extended down his entire head, leaving only one open spot for his left eye to see May giggling. Ash felt amused that May was laughing at him as he pulled the napkin off his head and placed it on the floor. The young infant tried to stand again only to accidentally bang his head on the edge of the table!

"Gagaah!" Ash cried as he fell back down on his rear.

Ash started hysterical crying from the pain of hitting his head. He started getting frustrated and picked up the napkin and only gently threw it to his right while tears ran down his face.

In a sharp contrast to his emotion, May sat there hysterically laughing at the young boy. Her huge smile and rosy cheeks beamed as she shut her eyes, smiling and giggling. The girl started clapping as she watched Ash try to throw the napkin in frustration.

"Teeheee…heheheee!" May laughed, clasping her hands.

Ash continued crying as he tried to stand himself up again for another round at the cookie. The boy reached with his hand over the table, trying to feel it. When he pulled the napkin holding the cookie before, it moved the cookie a little closer to the edge of the table before the napkin fell completely off. With tears in his eyes and a disgruntled face, Ash was more determined than ever to achieve his goal.

May stopped giggling as she crawled closer while watching her infant friend at work. Ash's hands moved along a soft and crumbly surface on top of the table…he stopped crying as he realized that must have been the cookie he was feeling! He gripped the cookie tightly as it fell off the table and onto the floor.

Ash looked over and sat himself back down on the ground while May sat next to him. He picked up the cookie with his two hands and started examining the texture with his fingers, which is something babies usually do with new objects. He held the half-bitten cookie in his hands and brought it to his mouth to nibble upon. May stared reluctantly.

Ash brought the cookie back down from his mouth and smiled. It tasted good, and that's all a baby needed to know. Once May saw Ash enjoy the cookie, she wanted a piece of it too. She grabbed the cookie with her left hand while Ash still firmly gripped onto the other ends with his hands. The two frustrated babies each tried to pull the cookie away from each other.

"Gogoeeeheeeo!" an angry May shouted.

"Nonononononono!" Ash said, sniveling.

The two infants tugged on the cookie back and forth with all their might. May then used her right hand to push Ash's face away so he would let go of the cookie. She poked him hard which made his grip loosen, as May pulled the cookie away from him.

"Heehee!" May giggled as she now held the half-bitten cookie in her hands.

Ash started whimpering again as he saw a very proud May hold the cookie above her head. She brought the cookie to her mouth and started chomping away happily. Ash sat there crying helplessly. May noticed Ash crying but didn't seem to care, as she selfishly continued to eat the cookie while Ash whined hysterically. As young teens, May didn't hesitate to ask Ash if he would like to have a piece of her cake, but as infants, May wanted the sweets all to herself. She gobbled up the entire chocolate cookie hastily as Ash cried even more.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, Pikachu had finally found the others.

"Where are you taking us Pikachu?" Brock asked, running.

"Yeah, what's the hurry?" Max asked, running beside Brock.

"Will you two slow down, some of us are not as young as we used to be! And I have a medical condition!" the Professor yelled, trying to catch up.

Pikachu stopped in the hallway next to an open door. Brock and Max stood behind it wondering why Pikachu had brought them there.

"Pika PIKA?!" Pikachu shouted as it entered the room looking for Ash and May.

It looked to the left. They weren't there. It looked to the right. They weren't there. Pikachu gasped.

The Professor finally stopped running as he reached the doorway of the living quarters.

"Well that was my exercise for the month….gah." the Professor said panting.

Max walked toward the center of the room and spotted Ash's hat and sweatshirt, reduced in size.

"What…I mean…this looks like Ash's!" Max exclaimed, picking up the small hat.

The Professor looked up nervously.

"Pikachu Pika!" Pikachu tried to explain as it held Ash's sweatshirt above it's head.

"Oh no…" the Professor said, dismayed.

"That's Ash's sweatshirt! But how in the world did it get so small?" Brock exclaimed, examining the sweatshirt in his hands.

"Don't tell me…dammit!" the Professor signed as he slapped his forehead.

Pikachu looked to it's right and saw the small metallic gun was still on the ground. Pikachu ran over to it and held it in it's hands.

"Pika pikachu, pika pi Pikachu!" it said waving the gun.

"What in the world is that?" Brock asked.

"CAN'T I LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE FOR ONCE WITHOUT THEM GETTING INTO TROUBLE!?!" The Professor shouted, stomping his feet.

He marched toward Pikachu.

"Give me that!" he said as he snatched the metallic gun away from the Pokemon.

"Professor…what's…wrong?" Max asked reluctantly.

The Professor didn't respond. He examined the gun and looked to the side of it. He snapped off a metal compartment that showed various power gauges underneath. Three bars were stacked on top of each other, the top two bars were filled with yellow, but the bottom bar was depleted.

"Great. Just great," he said with discontent.

"Professor, do you know why this sweatshirt and that hat resemble Ash's?" Brock asked as he held the sweatshirt in his left hand.

"Yes. I suppose the girl got zapped too," he said, scratching his forehead.

"What…my sister? What happened?" Max asked nervously.

"PIkaaa---pi!" Pikachu stretched out it's arms. Pikachu then imitated an explosion sound and dropped itself to the floor.

"So you saw it happen eh? Well…it looks like the boy and your sister have managed to de-age themselves. Judging from the readings on this panel, it happened only a few minutes ago," the Professor said, tapping the gauge on the gun.

"Come again?" Brock asked.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? THIS GUN. Those two kids touch said gun. Said gun was not to be touched. Kids don't listen. Kids touch anyway. Said gun zaps them. Then they get small….reeeeeeaaaaal small…like itsy bitsy small!" the Professor said disgruntled, waving the gun in the air.

"My sister and Ash…got shrunk?" Max said in disbelief, staring down at Ash's hat.

"Not quite, this gun turned them back into infants of about a year old. Hmmm, what were their names again? Ah yes…think of Ash and May, only bite-sized. They're now little itsy bitsy cutesy babies," the Professor said with a straight face.

"Wait…really…? But is that possible?" Brock demanded.

"Of course. After all you're talking to a living-walking genius here who works for Devon company. I managed to create a device that decelerates growth rate, and in fact turns people back several years until when they were just infants. I created this device for…a certain reason..… but I never dared show it to my company or anybody else…but…I guess…it works," he stated.

"If this is true….why did their clothes shrink with them?" Max asked.

"What are you majoring in science, young man? It would take too long to explain, but the device also shrinks whatever the user is wearing so it still fits when they're de-aged."

"It seems hard to digest all this information. But I can't help but believe it by staring at Ash's shrunken clothes. It's amazing that such a device even exists…something like that could change the world," Brock said, astonished.

"Yes I suppose it would, yeppers it would, or something or other….but HEY! Don't we have more important things to worry about? Like WHERE exactly those two rascals ran off to?" the Professor said.

Brock grunted, "They must have crawled out of this room!"

"Whoa, we're dealing with a real mind here. Is stating the obvious something you like to do often?" the Professor asked sarcastically.

"Pikachu, did you see where they went?" Max asked frantically.

"Piiiika," Pikachu shook it's head.

"C'mon!" Brock motioned to Max as he started running out of the room.

"Hey wait!" Max said running, still holding Ash's hat.

Pikachu followed behind them as the Professor continued to examine the gun.

When the room was empty, he held the device in the palm of his hands and gazed solemnly.

"So it actually still does work. Its been a few years…I can't believe it. I'm astonished it never broke down after all this time. It just better function until the day I need it….those kids…" he muttered as he lowered the gun.

~*~*~*

Ash wiped his watery eyes as May sat there with chocolate all over her mouth.

"Teehee!" she giggled to herself.

She started wiping the chocolate off her mouth with her elbow. She then grinned at Ash as if she were mocking him.

Ash's emotions suddenly shifted. Instead of being sad, the infant started to get infuriated. The infant looked angry as it gazed at the greedy baby.

"Eh?" May looked nervously at him.

Ash quickly moved toward her and pulled on a lock of her hair.

"Aaaaaah!" May cried as Ash pulled tightly.

In a menacing gaze, Ash continued to pull on May's hair for eating the cookie he worked so hard to pull off the table.

"Noononnonono!" May shouted as she started slapping Ash in the face.

In a little chibi war of hair pulling and slapping, the two infants continued inflicting pain on one another while shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Gyaaaooo!" Ash screamed while pulling her hair.

"Yaaaargooo!" May shouted as she continued to push him and slap his face.

Various high pitched screams could be heard as the babies continued to slap, poke, and pull each other in a rage.

"That…noise…" Brock said as he turned in the hallway.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu pointed.

Brock, Max and Pikachu ran up to the doorway that was opened. They looked to the right as the two infants were in the process of beating each other up.

"Oh my god," Brock gasped.

Ash and May suddenly stopped fighting as they saw familiar faces standing in the doorway. They quickly let go of each other and stared naïvely at their friends with wide-open eyes.

"I can't believe it, I now…have a little sister! I sure hope Mom and Dad don't find out about this!" Max gasped.


	6. Ash and May....bite-sized!

**Zero: You miss me?**

**Mike: NO!**

**Zero: Rude.**

**Mike: Well that what you get.**

**Zero: What did I do? And where is Aj?**

**Mike: I dont know the answer for both questions.**

**Zero: You're no fun just do the disclaimer.**

**Mike: Alright... ZerocielX doesn't own pokemon.**

**Both: Starting the chapter!**

* * *

****Chapter 6**   
**  
** **"Ash and May....bite-sized!"**   
**

 

 

"…May?" Max called out weakly to his infant sister.

May squinted at her brother trying to remember who he was. The infant crawled a bit toward him before stopping half way.

"Does…she remember?" Brock wondered.

The Professor stepped in the doorframe but did not enter the room. He sized up the situation rather quickly, but didn't want to interfere. For him, this was not just a moment to see if the two infants would remember their friends, but to him it was an experiment. He watched carefully, mentally jotting down in his mind every single thing infant Ash and May did. His face was stern without glee, the once jovial professor stood there completely serious, and almost ominous in appearance.

"May…it's me…your little…uh…I mean your BIG brother...boy did that sound weird to say," Max said sighing.

May's eyes twitched as Max slowly walked up to her holding out his hands. Ash sat there gazing curiously as he watched Max walk over to May. Brock's attention was completely on May, he didn't want to distract Max and May by calling out to Ash. He also felt very uncertain.

Max held out his left hand and opened his palm in front of his infant sisters' face. The young girl looked at his palm and then looked up at her brother. Max nodded with a smile in order to encourage her.

May, carefully, and slowly, placed her two hands on her brothers opened palm. Max felt the cold hands of his infant sister touching his opened hand and barely let out a breath. Everyone else in the room continued to stare, Brock, the Professor, Ash and Pikachu, each waiting for their individual questions to be answered. Not a sound could be a heard, the entire moment between May and Max was considered the moment of truth for all of them.

May pressed on her brother's palm with her hands. Max then held out his right hand and opened that one next to his left. The two opened hands almost bewildered May, as the young infant kept moving her head from one hand to the next, as if she didn't know what to do.

The girl placed both her little hands into her brothers' bigger hands. Max continued to smile staring into his little sisters' sapphire eyes. Suddenly, May lifted her hands back in the air and slapped them back down on Max's two hands. Her uncertain gaze shifted into a huge smile, as the young infant playfully began squeezing both her brothers' hands.

"Mux?" May asked as she looked at her brother.

"Yes, it's me Max!" Max exclaimed.

"Ehah!" May yelled as she leaped into her brothers arms.

"Whoa!" Max said as he quickly held his sister in his arms before he dropped her.

May snuggled her face into her brothers chest and gripped his shoulders with her hands. Max felt a bit strange holding a baby, let alone his baby sister, as he was taken back by holding her and feeling her grip onto him.

Ash grinned, "Ahahaha!"

The room lit up with laughter as all previous doubt had been washed away.

"Looks like they do have some of their old memory…." the Professor muttered.

Ash quickly crawled over to Brock and started tugging on his leg.

"Hey down there, how's it going Ash?" Brock asked, cheerfully.

Ash looked up, smiling as Pikachu walked next to him.

"Haha, your hands are so cold May!" Max chuckled as his sister started placing her hands on his face.

The young infant girl playfully rubbed her cheek against her brothers' face. Max returned the emotion by rubbing his cheek against his little sisters'.

"Mux…hehehehoho!" she repeated, giggling.

Brock bent down and picked Ash up, holding him at arms length in front of him.

"Remember me? Blaaargh!" Brock teased, sticking his tongue out and making a funny face.

"Hoohoo!" Ash replied as he grabbed Brock's tongue while it was sticking out.

"Whey!" Brock tried to say as Ash held onto his tongue.

"Hahahahahaa! Ash has your tongue!" Max said happily while carrying his infant sister.

"Asssh, I nweed tha to speek proppperly," Brock tried to say.

Ash gripped Brock's tongue with both his hands, and erupted with laughter as he tugged hard on it trying to pull it out of Brock's mouth.

"Looks like the boy had a strong grip!" The Professor said, surprised.

"Pikachu," Pikachu laughed at it's trainer.

"Heyz c'mon leth go!" Brock said as he placed Ash down on the ground.

Ash let go of Brock's tongue and looked at his wet hands from the saliva.

"Gah, I don't think I've ever had someone grab my tongue before. I guess I'll think twice before sticking my tongue out next time," Brock said, relieved.

Max felt his infant sister getting too heavy to hold and decided to place her down next to Ash.

"Wow, you're pretty heavy for an infant May," Max said.

Ash took a look at his wet hands from Brock's saliva again. The boy looked to the right where May was sitting next to him, and deliberately wiped his hands all over May's clothes.

"Wagaoooh?" May said annoyed as Ash wiped his wet hands all over her shirt.

"Heeeeheee," Ash said pointing and laughing.

"Noonoo!" May shouted angrily as she pushed Ash's chest with all her might.

The force of the girls' push was so strong that it knocked Ash backward and he banged his head on the floor. Ash whimpered as tears formed in his eyes.

"Hey, you two aren't supposed to fight," Brock said bending down.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!" Ash yelled, hysterical crying.

May had a coy smile as she turned her head away from Ash.

"Hey, Ash, it's OK. She didn't mean it," Brock said, sitting the boy up and patting his back.

Ash's crying started to fade as he continued to snivel looking at May with contempt.

"Wow, my sister really must like beating Ash up," Max said, putting his hand behind his head.

"WELL NOW, this is all fine and dandy except for one thing!" The Professor exclaimed.

"What's that?" Max asked.

"Well….the fact that your two friends are infants for goodness sakes!" the Professor slapped his forehead.

Max, Brock and Pikachu looked toward the Professor. Brock placed Ash's small sweatshirt and hat on the table in the middle of the room.

"Gee, I almost got too carried away by seeing how cute the two of them were," Brock said, "You know a way to reverse this…I hope."

"Yeah, you can turn Ash and May back to normal right…with that gun thingie?" Max added quickly.

The Professor looked down slyly as he saw Ash and May crawling around the room in opposite directions.

"I suppose so," the Professor mused, "My invention definitely should be able to reverse the process. Being the brilliant genius that I am, I always have an emergency plan for every single one of my machines in this lab. Buuutt…"

"What, what is it?" Brock asked.

Ash and May started circulating around the room in opposite directions, naively. They were crawling quickly on their hands and knees, with their heads looking at the floor and not watching where they were going. The two of them would end up meeting each other as they started crawling in the same direction in an oval pattern.

"The gun needs to be recharged. See this panel?" the Professor asked as he pointed to a yellow energy bar on the inside panel of the gun.

"What do you recharge it with? What even powers that device?" Brock asked.

"Orange juice," the Professor responded.

"Really?"

"No."

"Oh."

"You need to work on your sarcasm detector, boy," the Professor said coyly.

"Huh?" Max asked.

Ash and May eventually came full circle not watching where they were going and bumped heads into one another.

"GAHH!" Ash screamed, brushing his hand against his black hair.

"Aargh!" May complained as she rubbed her forehead in pain.

The Professor rolled his eyes, "In all seriousness, this device is powered by super secret formula #69. Since I never planned to use this device until I uh…needed it…I never needed to keep another power source ready, at least during the last several decades anyway."

Ash and May shrugged off their minor bruises and started rolling on the floor, giggling in opposite directions in the background.

"Wheeeeeeeeee!" the two infants said, playfully rolling on their backs.

"And since you're acting so calm you must know how to get this stuff right?" Brock asked.

"Yep. I'll just have to do a #69 for it, and the device should be back at full power. There is a way to reverse them back to the ages they originally were once I power up the gun again," the Professor said, yawning.

"You can make that formula? What's it made out of?" Max asked.

"TOP SECRET! I know if I told you kids you'd end up taking the ideas for my invention and getting the fame and credit for it. My invention, my genius at work, so I'll just make the formula in seeeecret," the Professor said.

"Uh fine, as long as it works and turns them back the way they were, I don't really care," Brock responded.

"Of course you do realize that this mishap means that you kids will have to work extra hours for every moment spent off the job?"

"Gee, I kinda forgot we were supposed to be working for you. I was actually having fun doing my share of the work," Max said.

"And you also….oh MY GOD WHAT THE HELL!? WHO TOUCHED THAT?" The Professor yelled at the top of his lungs.

Ash and May stopped rolling in their tracks as they sat up from the loud pitched scream.

"What? What's wrong now?" Brock asked, nervously.

The Professor ran to the table in the middle of the room and noticed the napkin was on the floor. The Professor picked up the napkin and looked around suspiciously.

"What in the world happened to my chocolate chip cookie? Seriously, I can't even leave my snacks on the table without you people eating it behind my back?! Can't an old man ever get a break with you kids? Which one of you ate my cookie?" The Professor shouted.

"Buuuuurrp," May burped and smiled naively.

The Professor's jaw dropped on the floor. He then walked slowly up to infant May and placed his face in front of hers.

"You're a handful, kiddo, you know that?" he said.

May's eyebrows raised as she suddenly squeezed the Professor's big round nose.

"Looks like you nose honks, Professor!" Max said laughing.

"I should have seen that coming," The Professor sighed as he stood up.

"Teehee!" May squirmed with glee.

~*~*~*

Outside the lab in the opened field, three familiar characters were walking side by side completely out of breath.

"I can't walk another step or I'll collapse!" the woman with long red hair shouted.

"It's times like these I wonder why we don't just rent a car," the man with blue hair parted in the middle, said.

"That's because the two's of you'se don't have a license!" the small feline Pokemon said.

"What are you talking about Meowth!" the Team Rocket member known as Jessie shouted, "I already have a license to drive!"

"You have a license to annoy, bore, and snore loudly too," James replied.

"Will you shut up?" Jessie said clenching a fist.

"Where'd you get dat license from? Off a cereal box?" Meowth scoffed.

"Actually I have a stolen license, but whose keeping count anyway?" Jessie responded.

"Why couldn't we just stay in the balloon?" James asked as he fell to the ground.

Jessie and Meowth sat themselves down on the grass next to him.

"Maybe because it sunk to the bottom of the lake once that twerps' Swellow put a hole through it the other day?" Meowth replied, "Sometimes I wonder how that twerp will manage if his Swellow is put out of comission."

"Hmmm, look at that fancy building," James said, pointing to the small silver toned laboratory.

"Fancy? Looks more like tacky to me," Jessie said sarcastically.

"I wonder what a building like that is doing out in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing but a sea of grass over here," Meowth wondered.

"Who knows? Who cares? Besides, looks like that building has a broken window," Jessie said.

"Ooh you're right, one of those circular windows is smashed," James exclaimed.

"Hmmm…that just piqued my curiosity," Meowth said, raising his claws.

"You don't actually intend to go in that place do you?" Jessie asked, exhausted.

Meowths' eyes lit up as Jessie and James could tell he was up to something.

~*~*~*

Inside the lab's guest room, Brock was holding both Ash and May in his arms. He was holding Ash in his left arm, and May in his right. Both babies clung to Brock with their hands as they looked around the room.

Max sat himself down on the edge of his bed, "The Professor locked himself in his room rather quickly. I sure hope he already started on that formula of his."

Brock nodded as Ash and May started getting restless in his arms. Ash reached up and started pulling on Brock's face. The ever curious and energetic May watched him as he began pulling on Brock's mouth.

Brock stood there smiling as he allowed Ash to play with his face. May's eyes lit up as she decided to do the same. May started grabbing Brock's ear and pulled on it as hard as she could. When each infant saw the other start pulling on a feature on Brock's face, the other one tried to move onto a different feature. Ash then squiggled his little body to get higher up while Brock was holding him, and reached for his nose. Ash glared at May as if he was insinuating a challenge. May responded by squirming her little body up on Brock's chest to reach for something higher on his face.

Max and Pikachu watched smiling as the two infants tried to rearrange Brock's face as best they could. Ash started pressing both his hands on Brock's cheeks while May started poking his right eye.

"Ah…not the eye! You can touch anything else, just not the eye!" Brock said as he jerked his body.

"Yeehaooo!" Ash shouted as he constantly tried to push Brock's cheek to the right.

May reached up with all her might and started pulling on Brock's spikey hair.

"Wow, Ash and May can't sit still, can they? They're almost always getting each other into mischief!" Max said laughing.

"I noticed," a testy Brock said as the two infants pushed and pulled on almost every feature on his head.

The Professor opened the door to the guest room and greeted the two kids and infants.

"Have you finished the formula yet?" Max asked.

"No no, it will take a few hours yet to finish mixing the chemicals and making sure they're at the right temperature. I'm just wondering if either of those babies had to go to the bathroom yet," The Professor asked.

"OH I FORGOT!" Brock gasped as he placed both infants gently on the bed.

"What? What's the matter now?" Max asked.

"Ash and May are only a year or so old! That means they're going to make in their pants!" Brock shouted.

"Oh man, I didn't even think about diapers or anything!" Max said, astonished.

Brock, Max and Pikachu looked at the Professor for an answer.

The Professor waved his hand, "What are you three looking at me for? Do I look like I keep spare diapers around the lab?"

"I sure hope neither one of them uh… "made" yet. They're still sitting in their underwear under their clothes aren't they? After all, everything they're wearing got shrunk with them," Brock said.

The two infants sat side by side, staring naively at everyone talking in the room. The young infant boy with dark spikey hair and the brunette still wearing her bandana looked from person to person as they were shouting, trying to understand what they were saying.

"Hmmmm, I wonder how the girls' bra fits her now that she's a little infant. She must still be wearing it under her shirt," The Professor wondered.

"Hey! Don't talk about my sister like that!" Max said angrily.

"Calm down, if it weren't for me you wouldn't even realize if you'd have to change them or not," the Professor responded.

"I just hope if either of them "make", it's a #1 rather than a #2. If you know what I mean, I don't think I'm mature enough to stomach removing the brown stuff," Brock said sobbing.

"But…even if they did you can't change them Brock!" Max shouted.

The two infants poked out their heads and stared right at Brock with clueless expressions on.

"Well I suppose I'd be the one to change them…as I don't think the Professor wants to –"

"You got that right," The Professor said quickly.

"That's not what I mean! You can't change them because if you take off their underwear you'd see the bottom of them…uh…naked," an embarrassed Max blushed.

Brock rolled his eyes, "Max don't worry, I won't be looking when I don't have to, you know. I'll just quickly slap on some diapers if we can go out and get some…besides…I don't think we have to worry about that right now anyway. The two of them look fine."

Off of Brock's remark, Ash made a squeezing sound. Brock looked nervously at his younger friend and pressed his hand against his pants.

"Good news!" Brock declared.

"What?" Max asked.

"It's not a nr.2."

"Phew."

"Bad news!" Brock declared again.

"What now?" Max asked.

"It was a nr.1. Ash feels wet. I think he peed in his pants," Brock said covering his face.

"Well, well, that's my cue to exit. Have fun with that!" the Professor said hastily as he walked out of the room.

"Hey wait a sec, what am I supposed to do?" Brock said nervously.

May smiled and placed her hand on Ash's shoulder. An embarrassed Ash looked at May as the girl let out a chuckle.

"Oh brother," Brock sighed.

****


	7. You grew up FAST, girl!

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**Chapter 7** **"You grew up FAST, girl!"**

 

 

"I hope I bought the right ones," Max panted as he ran across the field holding a bag.

Brock had given Max some money to run ahead to a store to buy diapers for Ash and May. Luckily for Max, he didn't have to run that far as there was a set of stores next to a beach which was just over the clearing that the lab was situated on. For Brock, this was a chance to watch Ash and May while Max ran out to get diapers, as they didn't want to leave Ash sitting in a wet diaper. For Max however, he considered it a big responsibility. Max was determined to buy the right sized diapers for Ash and May, he knew he couldn't let his little sister and best friend down.

"Almost there…" Max gasped as he pushed a tree branch out of his face.

The sun was still shining along the sea of grass surrounding the lab. The boy had only been gone for less than an hour, but he was running the whole way through. Max ran out of the small forest area and into the clearing. He looked down at the bag he was carrying that contained a pack of diapers inside. He smiled as he ran up to the front doors of the lab.

"Huh…why is the door open?" Max asked himself.

The sliding doors of the lab were pushed wide open, which was very unusual as the Professor made a habit to tell them that he always wanted his doors shut. Max shrugged it off however and shut the doors behind him, there was something far more important on his mind.

Max ran up the stairs and into the guest room on the 2nd floor. As he entered the room he saw Brock playing with Ash and May on the bed. Pikachu was sleeping on the floor. The two infants were playing jovially with Brock's hands as he rubbed their little tummies to make them laugh. Brock leaped off the bed when he saw Max enter the room. Ash and May looked disappointed as they wanted Brock to continue playing with them.

"You got them right?" Brock asked.

"Yep. I bought the diapers, I bought the right size I hope according to the Professor. At least I think I did," Max said as he handed the bag over to Brock.

Brock looked in the bag and picked up the package of diapers inside. He examined the tab on the side as well as the size, but Brock realized something was missing.

"Uh…Max, these are the right size but you forgot something!" Brock said as he held the package of diapers in his hand.

"What? What did I forget?" Max asked astonished.

"You only bought boys diapers! You were supposed to get a package of girls' diaper too!" Brock scolded.

"Oh man, I'm such an idiot!" a distressed Max said.

"Don't feel so bad Max," Brock said as he put his hand on his shoulder, "You simply forgot that's all. Besides, good thing you at least got the right size for, Ash."

"No, I'm so stupid!" Max grunted as he pushed Brock's hand away, "I was in such a rush that I only picked up boys diapers because I had Ash on my mind most of the time. I was thinking about him because he was the one who made in his pants, so I knew I had to hurry up and get diapers for him. I can't believe I was dumb enough not to get a package of girls' diapers for my sister."

"Max…it's OK really," Brock said as he placed the package of diapers on the bed. Brock went over to May and pressed his hands against her shorts. May's face lit up as she thought Brock was going to play with her again. He instead was only checking to see if May was still dry.

"Hmmm, it doesn't seem like May made in her underwear yet…at least that's good news," Brock said as he removed his hand from May.

May looked disappointed as Brock moved away from her. The unhappy infant looked at Brock and Max with watery eyes hoping that one of them would come and play with her. May's eyes continued to water as she looked at Ash, who was too busy trying to knock a lamp off the table.

Max looked disheartened. He felt that he had failed Brock and his sister for not getting the job done as asked. He sat down on a chair as he wiped the lens of his glasses with his shirt.

Brock sighed as he knew what Max was feeling, but decided to give him some alone time to cool down. Brock ripped open the plastic on the pack of diapers as he took out one diaper and left the rest on the dresser which was opposite the bed.

Brock looked aghast at the lamp that was leaning off the edge of the table as Ash was trying to kick it over.

"Ash, stop!" Brock yelled as he ran over to the table.

"Wheee!" Ash giggled as he kicked the lamp off the edge.

"Gah!" Brock screamed as he darted for the lamp and caught it right before it hit the floor.

"Brock…?" Max asked, putting his glasses back on.

"Jeez, Ash, you really are trying to get us into trouble aren't you? Don't you remember how the Professor said he doesn't like his stuff touched or broken?" Brock said in an understanding voice.

Ash shrugged his shoulders as May giggled, watching from afar. Brock placed the lamp back on the table as he lifted Ash up and placed his back on the bed.

"Well this is going to be a new experience," Brock said reluctantly, taking off Ash's pants and boxers.

Max turned his head away on purpose as he didn't want to see Ash's bottom naked. May however gazed naively trying to understand what Brock was doing. Ash was in his own little world as he just stared up smiling at Brock.

"The….re…good as new!" Brock said as he connected the velcro of the diaper.

"Ooh," Ash motioned as he touched his nice new diaper.

May gazed in awe as if Brock gave Ash some kind of special present.

"Might as well put these in the hamper," Brock said as he held Ash's wet boxers with two fingers and dropped them in the hamper next to the bathroom door.

Brock then went back toward Ash and put his sweatpants back on over his diaper. May was completely bewildered and more confused than anything. Ash smiled playfully as Brock sat him back up on the bed.

Max got off the chair and walked up toward Brock and the two infants, "Brock, do you want me to go run out again and get a pair of girl diapers for May?"

Brock checked the clock up on the wall, "It's 4:00pm. Running out now would be more trouble than it's worth. The Professor still wants us to get our work done remember? Don't worry, I'll go get a pack tomorrow. Besides May is still dry now, I just hope she doesn't do a #2 over night," Brock sighed, wiping his forehead.

Suddenly, a loud explosion caught their attention from downstairs.

"What the heck was that?" Max shouted.

"It…sounds like one of the machines downstairs must have blown up!" Brock shouted.

"WHAT THE HELL!" the Professor's voice could be heard from downstairs.

"C'mon," Brock motioned as he picked up both Ash and May and carried them under his arms. Max followed Brock out of the room. Pikachu was still sound asleep, not noticing the ruckus.

The Professor was coughing, trying to blow away the smoke on the first level of the lab.

"Professor!" Brock shouted, holding the two infants with Max running behind.

"Oh, so you guys were upstairs? I was about to tear your heads off for destroying another one of my machines!" The Professor said furiously.

"It wasn't us, we heard the noise and came running down here," Max said.

"Then who?" the Professor pondered as he walked through the smoke.

A pair of broken machine parts were on the floor, with a bunch of metal cylinders scattered all over the ground.

"Will someone get this thing off me!" a familiar voice yelled.

"Huh…somebody else is in my lab!" The Professor shouted as he ran toward the voice.

Brock and Max followed with the two infants being carried like suitcases. The two of them had to wade through the smoke and dust in order to see what was going on.

"Woodle doo?" Ash asked May as they were carried through the smoke.

"Me nono," May shrugged.

As the smoke cleared the gang saw Meowth being stretched by a pair of mechanical arms. The left arm pulled on Meowths' front paws while the right was pulling on his legs. Jessie and James were frantically pulling on Meowth's body to get him free.

"Let him go you bucket of bolts!" James shouted.

"What is with this nuthouse? Who in the world makes a pair of robot arms that reach for you as you walk by?" Jessie asked while pulling on Meowth.

"A…ctually….I ran up to the arms to get a closer look at them and they must have thought I was part of the experiment! Gaaaaaah….I'm being pulled from all directions," Meowth shouted.

"Team Rocket?" Max wondered as he suddenly realized something, "That must have been why the front doors was open! These three must have broken in somehow!"

"What are you lunatics doing in my lab?!" the Professor demanded.

Jessie and James turned their heads to see the four of them standing there but didn't stop their motion.

"Don't you see we don't have time for you at the moment?" James yelled back while still pulling on Meowth.

"Yeah, hey old geyser if you want to make yourself useful why don't you just shut these arms down!" Jessie yelled.

"Will somebody do SOMETHING! My body isn't made for such cruel punishment!" Meowth sniveled as his body continued to stretch in opposite directions.

The Professor grinded his teeth as he walked alongside the wall and opened a panel. He furiously pressed down on the "OFF" button inside the panel. The mechanical arms stopped pulling on Meowth and loosened their grip on him. Meowth looked relieved as the arms let go of him…until he was dropped hard on the floor.

"Aargh, what kind of landing was dat!" Meowth said out of breath, lifting himself up.

Jessie and James folded their arms as they looked at the group standing before them.

"Now, who the hell are you people? What the hell are you doing in my lab? And you're lucky I don't make you work 22 hour shifts for the damage you caused!" The Professor said enraged.

"He's not kidding either, he makes you work off the damage you cause him," Max said, grinning at Team Rocket.

Meowth stood up between Jessie and James. The three of them nodded at each other as they prepared for their dynamic entrance.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie declared.

"And you can make it double!" James added.

"To pro-" Jessie started before she was interrupted by Meowth.

"Hey wait a second! Isn't there something different about the twerps this time? Look at what the big twerp is holding!" Meowth said, pointing at Brock.

"Huh?" Jessie and James said in unison as they looked at Brock carrying infant Ash and May.

"Hiiii!" Ash smiled and waved.

"Blaaargh!" May teased as she stuck out her tongue to mock Team Rocket.

"Heh, looks like Ash and May have some faint memory of Team Rocket also." an amused Max said.

"Hey! The twerps are…bite-sized!" a shocked Jessie exclaimed.

"And here I thought that the fountain of youth was just a myth!" James said astonished as he slapped his forehead.

Brock stepped forward and said nonchalantly, "Ash and May got de-aged and turned back into infants by some crazy gun, that's about the gist of it. Now what are you guys doing here?"

"Wow…there's something that has the power to do that?" Meowth asked.

"Interesting, maybe Team Rocket could use that gun for something? After all, we deserve to get a little reward for smashing through all this ungrateful machinery," Jessie pondered.

The Professor was getting more and more irritated the more Team Rocket stood there. He reached into his pants pocket as his rage was building.

"THAT'S IT. Nobody breaks into my lab, destroys my machines and tries to steal my inventions. GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" the Professor yelled as he picked a Pokeball out of his pocket.

"Oh want to fight for it? We can do that," Jessie said.

"Go Seviper!" she commanded

"Go Cacnea!" James added.

In a blinding light the flash formed into the bodies of the poisonous snake Seviper and the small cactus Pokemon, Cacnea.

"This could get ugly. I'm holding Ash and May and I left Foretress' ball back at the room," Brock muttered.

Brock realized they were in trouble if they had no Pokemon to defend themselves from Team Rocket's attack. Pikachu was still sleeping upstairs, and Brock felt that he couldn't risk running up to the 2nd floor without Team Rocket causing more damage. His eye then caught a glimmer of the small Pokeball the Professor held in his right hand.

"So…what's it going to be, old timer?" James asked.

"THIS!" The Professor shouted as he threw his Pokeball.

The flash of light formed into the giant Pokemon known as Tyranitar. The seven foot tall Pokemon towered over them. It's face was enraged as the spikes on it's back hardened into an attack position. Tyranitar roared as it stood ready for battle before them.

"Whoa, I didn't know the Professor had any Pokemon," Max was surprised.

"A Tyranitar?!" Jessie and James shouted in unison as they grabbed each others arms.

"Uh-oh," Ash grinned happily as he pointed to Team Rocket.

"Go go go!" May shouted happily as she started throwing punches with her little infant hands.

"That's good news," A relieved Brock said to himself.

"Tyranitar, Mega Punch!" the Professor commanded, "Please obey me without hesitation!"

"Seviper/Cacnea do anything!" Jessie and James shouted.

Seviper and Cacnea reluctantly launched themselves at Tyranitar. Tyranitar lifted back it's burly arm and smashed it into the ground as Seviper and Cacnea leaped into the air. The floor of the lab cracked as the impact of the punch broke the tiles and shook the room around it.

"Seviper, bite attack!" Jessie commanded.

"Cacnea take it from the side and use Pin missile!" James yelled.

"Nicely done, don't forget who you are, my old friend. Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam on the snake!" The Professor commanded.

The Pokemon opened it's mouth and shot out a beam of orange light that completely enveloped the snake Pokemon and brought it to the ground.

"Viiiiper?" Seviper said in pain.

"Use Flamethrower on Cacnea!" The Professor shouted.

"Cac…nea!" Cacnea launched it's Pin Missile attack at Tyranitar.

Tyranitar jumped out of the way and leaped onto one of the machines, which ended up breaking a bit due to it's heavy weight.

"Cac?" Cacnea looked scared as Tyranitar was building an attack right behind it.

"Zzzaaar!" Tyranitar shouted as red flames shot out from its mouth and made contact with the small cactus Pokemon.

"Cacnea no!" James shouted as the force of the flamethrower pushed Cacnea all the way back toward Team Rocket.

The flames from Cacnea spread onto Jessie, James, Meowth and Seviper as it stood in front of them. Jessie, James and Meowth started to frantically jump around as the flames spread over their entire bodies.

"Aaaargh I can't stand the heat!" Jessie shouted.

"Is this even a fair fight?" Meowth yelled as it held it's head.

"Ha, it's fair to do to intruders who break into my lab," The Professor said boastfully as he stood next to his Pokemon. "Now, Tyranitar, send them flying with Dynamic Punch!"

Tyranitar pulled back it's arm as the shockwave of its punch sent Team Rocket and their Pokemon through the wall and sent them flying outside.

"This has to be the most humiliating defeat we ever had!" James shouted as they were flying in the air.

"There were worse!" Jessie snapped, "Besides, you saw how those twerps were turned into babies, we have to get a hold of such a device!"

"I ain't going back in there if you paid me!" Meowth said.

"Both of you are so utterly useless!" Jessie complained as the three of them and their Pokemon were sent into the sky beyond.

"Taaaar," Tyranitar roared triumphantly.

"That's enough now big fellah, I know its been awhile." The Professor said happily as he recalled his Pokemon in his Pokeball, "I'm pleased that you were able to hold onto who you were this time, thank you."

"Yaaaaaaaaaaayy!" Ash and May shouted, clapping their hands while still being held in mid-air.

"Wow, that was pretty good. I thought I would have to step in before you let out your Tyranitar," Brock complimented.

"Yeah, your Tyranitar looks so strong. I didn't even know you had Pokemon!" Max gushed with praise.

The Professor placed the Pokeball back in his pocket, "I rarely battle anymore, and Tyranitar is the only Pokemon I have left. I've had him for many, many years, and I use him to fend off robbers like those three."

The Professor looked at the front of his lab and sighed. The doorway was completely destroyed, and the machines in the surrounding area were completely totaled from the attacks and Team Rockets' initial break-in.

"Oh well, you can't win them all I guess," The Professor sighed.

"Sorry about all the damage they caused," Brock said softly as he brought Ash and May closer to his chest.

"Don't worry, I'll just add another day of work to your schedule. After all, somebody has to work hard to clean up the place," The Professor grinned.

"Gee, thanks a lot," Max said sarcastically.

"Hmmm…anyway, on the bright side I have some good news for our little friends here," The Professor said as he turned around.

Ash and May gripped onto Brock's shirt and looked at the Professor cautiously.

"I have finished one batch of my #69 formula, I was going to tell you before those three busted into my lab. Anyway, this means I can reverse the process on one of your friends and turn them back into the age they once were," he said cheerfully.

"Wow you're finished already? That's incredible, we can turn them both back?" Brock asked.

"No, didn't you hear me the first time? ONE batch. I only have enough to reverse the process on one of them. The other will have to wait another day or so before I can whip up another batch," The Professor responded.

"So who should we turn back first?" Max said looking at Ash and May.

"Let's not discuss it out here, come to my small experiment room. I have a table which you can place the babies on. When they grow bigger they will simply fill out on the wide open table. That way they'll have enough space to get back to their current height and weight," he stated as he motioned the gang to follow him.

"Can't you just turn them back while Brock is holding them?" Max asked curiously.

"Uh noooo…unless you want your friend here to topple over as the baby he's carrying suddenly multiplies in weight and height," The Professor said slyly.

"Gee, I didn't think of that," Max said.

The Professor walked toward a small room on the left side of the main entrance. He opened the door as Max and Brock walked in. The Professor shut the door behind him as he watched the two infants staring back at him over Brock's shoulder.

"Boogie booggie!" Ash said as he pulled his ears at the Professor who was walking behind him.

May pulled down her right eye lid at the Professor in order to tease him, "Hee hee!"

The Professor rolled his eyes at the two infants and told Brock and Max to gather around the wide open silver table. Brock placed both infants on the table as the Professor went to his desk to pull out what he needed for the experiment. Ash and May sat at the edges of the table while Brock watched that they didn't fall off.

The Professor pulled out the metallic gun as he examined the antenna dish at the edge of it. He then pulled out a small capsule filled with orange liquid and injected it into an open panel on the gun.

"Hmm…that's formula 69 right?" Max asked.

"Yep, and if I still remember how to do this then this SHOULD work," he said as he held up the gun, looking at it from all sides.

"You mean you've done this before? Have other people been turned into infants before Ash and May?" Brock asked.

"Well…you can say that," The Professor said as he walked toward the table.

"But I thought you said you never told anyone about your invention," Brock asked curiously.

"Yeah that's right, how do you know how to make that formula anyway? When did you discover a way to reverse the de-aging?" Max asked.

"What is this, some kind of interrogation? I think you kids ask too many questions," The Professor remarked.

"Well sorry," Brock said. Ash and May tried to push his hands away so they could move and get off the table. "It's just really interesting that's all."

"I wish you kids put as much effort into your work as you do asking me about every little thing," The Professor wiped the side of his face, staring at the two infants on the table, "Now then, which one of you tykes are going back to their normal age first?"

Ash and May naively pointed to each other as if they thought the Professor was assigning a punishment on them.

"Well what do you think Max? Should it be Ash or May?" Brock asked.

"I dunno, I kind of like it that I'm the older sibling for once. At least as a baby May can't boss me around like she used to. But then again she is my sister, and I really want to be normal again. I…kind of miss my older sister. But…Ash is my best friend, and I want him to be back to normal too," a shy Max said.

"I think the little runt should be turned back first. He was the one who threw that frisbee through my window in the first place wasn't he?" The Professor glanced at Brock and Max, "Not to mention being responsible for destroying my first set of mechanical arms? Besides, at least the girl isn't as annoying as a baby since she can barely talk."

May crossed her arms and muttered something under her breath as she heard the Professor's last comment.

"The boy will do. What do you think bucko?" the Professor asked Brock.

"Well Ash has been causing the most mischief as a baby," Brock said grinning, watching Ash nibble on May's fingers.

"Heiayah!" May cried as she pulled her fingers out of Ash's mouth.

Ash's lips puckered as an angry May turned her body away from him.

"He has been a bit more wild than May to take care of," Brock confessed.

"Then it's unanimous! The boy gets turned back first, simply because he is a rotten little brat!" The Professor declared.

"But…I didn't really make a decision…that means it's not really unanimous isn't it?" Max said timidly.

"Boy, what did I tell you about asking so many questions?" The Professor snapped.

Max jumped nervously, "OH! Sorry about that! Guess I wouldn't mind having my sister as a baby for another day or so."

"Take the girl off the table, for this to work only the boy has to absorb all of the rays from the gun," The Professor instructed.

"Got it," Brock said as he lifted May off the table.

Brock and Max stepped to the back of the room while Brock placed May on the floor. Ash looked up curiously as to why everyone suddenly moved away from him.

The Professor looked at the gun one last time to make sure everything was set. Brock and Max were too preoccupied with making sure that Ash didn't fall off the table to notice that May was crawling away.

May crawled toward the big table in the middle. She noticed the top of the table was too high to reach, so the frustrated baby tried to look for another method to get back on top to play with her friend. May then glanced at the right of the table as she saw a small plastic chair.

"Aha!" May said to herself.

Ash began to whimper on the table as he was wondering why everyone was suddenly avoiding him. The Professor began to aim with the gun toward the little infant. Max and Brock watched carefully as they had never seen the ray gun work before.

"Now then, the infant must absorb ALL of the formula in order to reverse the process. The antenna dish at the end of this gun with transmit the formula into air waves which will come into contact with the baby. If all the waves are absorbed, he should return to his previous height and weight," The Professor stated.

"Interesting," Brock noted.

Unbeknownst to everyone in the room, May managed to lift herself up on the small plastic chair that was to the right of the table. The infant then stood on the chair as she spotted Ash whimpering on the middle of the table. May was determined to get back to her friend so she could play with him again.

"Wait…what happens if not all the waves are absorbed?" Max asked.

"Then nothing will happen. The formula will have been wasted and I'll have to spend another full day making another batch," The Professor said.

"Phew, that's a relief," Max said, wiping the sweat off his face. "I thought that maybe Ash would turn into some kind of mutant or something if the experiment didn't work correctly. Maybe even grow younger or get really old…hehe."

"You read too many comic books, kid," the Professor said.

"Huh…where's May?" Brock wondered as he noticed May was no longer on the floor next to him.

"Here goes!" The Professor shouted as his finger pressed the red button on the gun.

"Wheeeeeeee!" May shouted as she leaped from the chair and landed face first on the table.

Yellow light started to form from the antenna dish of the gun. Unfortunately for May, she started sliding across the table stomach first and slid right into Ash.

"May!" Max shouted.

"GAAAAAH!" Ash shouted as the force from May sliding into him knocked him off the other edge of the table.

"Huh?" The Professor looked up as the yellow light began to engulf the only infant still on the table, May.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Ash cried hysterically as he bumped his head on the floor.

"Wuh?" May said, trying to shield her eyes from the yellow light that completely engulfed her.

The blinding light began to brighten the whole room, as every person in the room began to cover their eyes from the intense brightness.

Brock kneeled down on the floor and picked Ash up who was hysterically crying. "I can't believe May jumped on the table like that and accidentally knocked you over," he said.

"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Ash continued to cry as Brock held him in his right arm while shielding his eyes with his left.

"Well…" the Professor gasped while covering his eyes, "At least the air waves have managed to get one baby after all!"

May's eyes twitched as she felt something changing. May suddenly began to grow on the table. Her arms began to stretch. Her legs started to grow longer. Her facial features started to look older. Most of the baby fat that was on her body began to disappear. Her hair began to grow and accumulate. Her hips began to widen into an hourglass figure. Her chest broadened and her breasts started to develop. Curves began to form on her backside, and her clothes grew with her. Her voice deepened and started to get less squeaky. May was quickly returning to the age and weight she used to be.

The light surrounding the room started to disappear. Everyone in the room took their hands away from their eyes. Ash even stopped crying as he tried to look as to what was going on. The Professor started to lower the gun as he noticed the rays started to stop.

As the light cleared, the small infant baby that took up only a few inches in the middle of the table was gone. In its place, was a young teen girl that sat in the middle, with her arms stretched out behind her and her legs hanging over the edge of the other side.

May blinked hard as she realized she was back to normal.

"Eh…hi guys?" May said in an exhausted voice.

"It WORKED!" Brock shouted in glee.

"Ha!" The Professor smiled as his experiment was a success.

"May!" Max cried as he ran over to the table and grabbed his sister around the torso.

"Max…you don't have to cry," May said softly, patting his hair.

"I'm…I'm not sad. I'm just crying because I'm so happy to see you as yourself again, big sister!" Max said emotionally as his eyes wobbled, looking up at his sister.

"Oooooh," Ash smiled, admiring the teenage May on the table.

May lifted herself off the table and brought her feet to the ground as she moved her brother from her torso.

"OK now, Max?" May asked.

"Y-yes," Max said, wiping a few tears from his eyes.

"May, you'll never believe what happened to you!" Brock said.

"Oh I know," May replied, "I was turned into an infant and caused you guys a lot of trouble didn't I?"

"Oh, so you remember?" Max asked.

"I remember everything! And I…..oh….ASH!" May said suddenly as she leaped toward Ash who was being held in Brock's arms.

May placed her hand on top of Ash's black spikey hair and rubbed his scalp. "I'm so sorry you bumped your head when I knocked you off the table before, Ash. I didn't mean to hurt you like that," May said smiling at the little infant.

"Heehee!" Ash giggled as he let May rub his head.

"Interesting, so you have memory of everything you did as an infant right?" the Professor asked her.

May moved her hand away from Ash and looked at the Professor. "Sure do, Mr. Lenient! My memory seemed only faint when I was an infant, but I still kinda had an inkling as to who everyone was. Once you turned me back to normal, all my old memories became clear and I even still remember everything I did as a baby. You did a great job getting rid of Team Rocket before!" May said happily.

"Heh. Looks like this experiment was a complete success then. One baby down, only one more to go!" The Professor squealed as he leaped into the air and kicked his heels.

May became the center of attention as Brock and Max asked her many questions. May answered each of their questions happily as the Professor started putting the ray gun away.

Ash did nothing but stare in awe while May was talking. His eyes wobbled as he thought May was the best thing he ever saw in his entire life. He didn't quite realize that this teenage May was the same infant he was playing with all along, but whoever she was, he felt completely enamored with her.

Ash blushed every time May glanced at him while talking to Brock and Max. The little infant was completely infatuated with her presence, and knew he had to get her attention.


	8. Mommy May?

**Zero: Last update for the day!**

**Aj: No update for tomarrow either!**

**Mike: Until Moneyday there will be two chapter!**

**Zero: Yup!**

**Aj: That all we have to say right?**

**Zero: Yup!**

**Mike: Am getting paid right?**

**Zero: Nope!**

**Mike: Da-**

**May: DON'T YOU FINISH THAT SENTANCE MISTER!**

**Mike: Yes mother!**

**Zero: I'm starting chapter!**

**Aj: Wait the Disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: ZerocielX doesn't own pokemon!**

**Zero: Thank!**

**Disclaimer: You're welcome.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**"Mommy May?"**

 

 

 

Another hour had passed in a very hectic day. It was nearly 6:00pm, and the group was getting hungry after all the hard work the Professor put them through to make up for lost time. Ash had quickly fallen asleep in Brock's arms soon after May was turned back to her normal self. Earlier, Brock had placed Ash very comfortably next to Pikachu as they were both resting in Max's bed in the guest room.

May just finished picking up all the scattered metal cylinders that littered the floor after Team Rocket's uninvited appearance. Brock and Max were back to the same chores they were doing earlier that day, only at twice the speed as before.

The Professor walked into the middle of the main floor and put his hands on his hips.

"Hustle! Hustle! Nearly five hours of work was lost today due to all these mishaps we've been having. If you kids want to get out of here on time, you better pick up the pace!" The Professor instructed.

May placed one last metal cylinder into a small bag and wiped her brow. Her brother walked up to her to see how she was doing.

"Finally picked those all up, eh?" Max snickered.

"At least some of us get our work done you know," May replied sarcastically.

"I wonder why the Professor is making you clean up all the mess Team Rocket made."

"Maybe because I was the one who touched that gun thing to begin with? I guess I caused the biggest trouble, since you and Brock spent so much time taking care of Ash and me when we were infants that no work was being done," May sighed as she placed the bag of cylinders onto a conveyor belt.

"It's really hard to believe that everything happened in just a few hours. This is only our first day of work May, and we've already dealt with you and Ash turned into infants, I had to go run out and spend the last of our money on diapers, then there was Team Rocket breaking in, and then turning you back to normal! Hopefully our next six days of work aren't as big a handful as today was," Max said.

"Yeah, I barely got to see Ash as an infant because he fell asleep so quickly. I mean, of course I saw him when I was an infant too, but seeing him now when I'm myself again is like a completely different experience. Heehee, Ash is cute as a baby isn't he?" May smiled as she turned to her brother.

"Well…yeah. Now I know how Mom and Dad felt when we were younger. Taking care of little babies is a lot of work!" Max said.

"Heh, I hope when Ash wakes up he remembers that I'm older again. I hope he isn't disappointed that his "little friend" isn't there to play with him anymore," May jeered as she recalled playing with him as an infant.

May and Max started walking down the hall as they watched Brock on his hands and knees turning a wrench underneath a machine. His head was leaned under the bottom of the machine as he was stretching to see if he was turning the right bolts. The Professor appeared on the second floor railing, overlooking the main floor.

"BREEEAAAAAAAAK!" the Professor shouted happily.

"Break?" May and Max asked.

"What?" Brock asked as he lifted his head up only to bang his head on the bottom of the machine. "OUCH! GAH!" Brock rubbed his head in pain as he looked up at the Professor.

"You heard me. It's dinner time," The Professor stated.

"But I thought you wanted us to finish our work?" Max asked.

Brock placed the wrench on the side of the machine, "Yeah, didn't you want us to get our work done that we missed earlier?"

The Professor raised an eyebrow, "What is this? I put you kids into harsh child labor that is probably against the law and you complain. Then I decide to be nice and give you guys a break and you complain anyway. You really are a weird bunch of kids..."

"Dinner sounds GREAT Mr. Lenient!" May said cheerfully as she ran between Brock and Max, "What's wrong with you two? We haven't eaten all day practically! I'm starving."

"Hey I won't complain. C'mon Max," Brock motioned.

As the gang walked up the stairs following the Professor, they noticed some crying coming from the guest room.

"That's Ash!" May exclaimed.

"He didn't sleep for very long at all," Brock sighed.

The Professor walked toward the kitchen as May, Brock and Max opened the guest room door. Inside, Pikachu was desperately trying to get Ash to stop crying. The Pokemon was patting Ash's body but the infant was as stubborn as ever and starting kicking and pushing it away. Pikachu looked a bit astonished as it saw May enter the room.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu shouted happily as it ran into May's arms.

"Oh hey, Pikachu!" May said as she hugged it tightly, "You didn't know that Mr. Lenient turned me back to normal, did you?"

"Heh, that's right. Pikachu slept through the whole thing!" Max said.

"C'mon Ash, calm down," Brock said as he picked Ash up from the bed. Brock started cradling Ash in his arms in an attempt to get him to stop crying.

"Brock, you're doing a good job taking care of babies. I remember when you sat there playing with Ash and me while my brother was running out to get diapers," May said as Pikachu jumped out of her arms.

"Well I did have to take care of my younger brothers and sisters back at the Pewter Gym. I kind of grew up taking care of little ones when my father and mother…errr…left us," Brock said, still cradling a crying Ash in his arms.

Ash continued to kick and scream as he apparently wasn't satisfied.

"Maybe Ash is hungry. He didn't eat a thing all day either," Max said.

"That could be it," Brock said as May walked over to greet the little infant.

"Hey, Ash, remember me?" May grinned as the infant looked up at her curiously.

Ash sniveled as he slowly stopped crying while looking up at May. Brock held Ash out more while May tried to comfort him.

"You don't have to cry," May said softly as she moved her finger under Ash's eyes to take his tears away.

Ash's face beamed as he felt May rubbing his cheek softly with her finger. The boy then started lifting out his arms and reached for May.

"Looks like Ash wants you to hold him," Brock said as he edged Ash over to her.

"What? Me?" May asked as she looked up nervously.

Ash continued to reach out his arms frantically, trying to get May to pick him out of Brock's arms.

"Sure. It looks like it's the only way he'll calm down too," Brock added.

May nodded as she walked closer to Ash. She lifted out her hands and picked Ash up out of Brock's arms. May held Ash joyfully in front of her at arms length.

"Heeheee!" Ash pulled toward her as he wanted to hold onto May's body for warmth.

May blushed nervously as she brought Ash closer to her chest and hugged him tightly, "I've…never really held a baby before…let alone Ash as a baby." she said.

Brock, Max and Pikachu watched contently as Ash wrapped his arms around May's chest. The infant pressed his face against her breasts as May hugged him even tighter.

May squealed a bit as she continued to blush, "Ash, you're adorable! When I was an infant I couldn't realize this, but now that I'm older I can see why Brock played with us so much!"

Ash smiled blissfully as he continued to hold onto May, while the girl continued to hold her arms around his back and torso. For some reason holding infant Ash in her arms made her feel elated, she continued to smirk as she squeezed him tightly against her body.

The Professor entered the guest room with an impatient look on his face. "What's taking you guys so long? Do you want to eat or not?"

May and Ash suddenly looked up nervously as they were both snapped out of their dreamlike experience.

"Well…you see we had to calm down Ash," May said as she walked toward the Professor holding Ash in her arms. She looked down at Ash and waved his hand, "Say hi to Mr. Lenient!"

"Hiiiiiiiii!" Ash smiled at the Professor as May waved his hand.

"Quite," The Professor winked at the boy, "I need food in my belly, hurry up."

A few minutes later the gang were standing around the same small kitchen table that the cookie was sitting on a few hours before. Max sat down on a chair while Brock put his hands on the back of another. May continued to stand there wading her body while holding Ash.

"Let's see, what do I have here," The Professor opened his refrigerator.

"I hope you're going to cook us something very good like last night!" Max rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Max!" May snapped, "Be polite! Mr. Lenient is doing us a favor by cooking for us."

"Well scratch that," The Professor said as he closed the refrigerator door, "All I have in there is a stick of butter and a can of olive oil. I knew I was forgetting to buy food. Oh well, guess I'll order something in then."

Ash gleefully started to move his hands along May's face as she nibbled on his fingers playfully.

"That's getting you back for nibbling on my fingers as a baby, Ash. Now let's see you picking on someone a little older than you," May giggled.

"Ohoohoho," Ash said as he started pressing his hands against May's bosom.

Ash noticed that May's chest was a bit different from the chest he was used to leaning against, which was Brock's. Ash curiously pressed his hands against May's curves wondering what they were and why they were there.

"Uh…Ash?" a jittery May blushed as she turned and tried to hide what he was doing from the others.

Ash then started rubbing his face against May's chest as he realized it made a nice cushion. May blushed heavily as she wasn't used to someone pressing against her in that manner.

The Professor caught notice and said loudly, "Looks like the boy thinks you're his mother! Either that or he's hungry, babies like breastfeeding you know."

Everyone in the room jumped slightly off the Professor's remark.

"Hey! Wha? What are you…saying? Breast…..feeding?" May gasped as she struggled to hide her embarrassment.

"Heheee!" Ash shouted as he buried his face in her bosom.

"Relaaaaax," The Professor motioned, "It was a joke. You can't breastfeed anyway, but I do suppose the baby is really hungry."

Max looked around the room more confused than anything. He didn't quite understand what the Professor meant.

"Uh….ANYWAY…." Brock interrupted as he tried to change the subject, "Just what ARE you ordering anyway? And I hope it's something our little infant friend here can eat too."

"Well don't expect me to order anything expensive. You're not on vacation, you know. Hmmmmm….how about pizza, that little tyke can chew on the soft cheese if you break it apart. He…does have teeth doesn't he?" The Professor asked curiously.

Ash suddenly opened his mouth and chomped hard on May's skin through her shirt. May's body jerked as she closed one eye and said, "Y-es…he has teeth. Pretty sharp ones too…eheh."

"Then that's that. I'll place the order. Sheesh, I really hope you kids appreciate all the things I'm doing for you," The Professor sprang across the room to a phone as he started dialing.

May pulled out a chair next to Max as she sat down with Ash in her arms. May started tickling Ash's body as the boy giggled loudly. He waved his hands and arms in the air as May moved her fingers underneath Ash's black t-shirt so she could tickle his skin.

"Hahahahahaha!" Ash roared with laughter as May quickly moved her fingers against his chubby stomach.

"Wow, May is really good with babies," Brock said to himself as he sat on his chair at the end of the table.

May noticed Max leaning over to her as if he wanted to ask her something. May looked at her brother and asked, "What's the matter?"

Max shyly began to open his mouth but then shut it again. He started scratching his shoulder nervously as he finally got the courage to ask his question.

"Uh, May….what did the Professor mean by breastfeeding?" Max asked nervously.

"!!!" a surprised May responded.

~*~*~*~*

The pizza had arrived almost ten minutes after the Professor made the order. Everyone was sitting at the table eating a slice. Pikachu peeled the cheese off the pizza and brought it to its mouth.

May had Ash sitting on her lap, having him face the table. She had taken her slice and cut it into little pieces small enough for Ash to chew. She peeled off the cheese and set it aside as she gave him the small pieces of pizza. Ash picked the small pieces from the table and started chewing them the best he could. May smiled contently as she started eating the other half of her slice that she set aside for herself.

The Professor was eating his slice quickly with his mouth open. The others at the table noticed how many sounds and grunts the Professor made when chewing. The chewing sounds almost disturbed Ash, as the infant kept looking up at the Professor curiously.

The Professor caught notice of everyone staring at him at the table. He swallowed what was in his mouth and glanced about the room, "Uh…yes? I appear to be the center of attention. I know I was quite the looker when I was younger but since then my face has gone to hell and back. So uh…what is it?" The Professor burped as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"You…don't have company often do you?" Brock asked.

"Who me? Almost never. All my relatives are long dead, ha! And I certainly do not invite little kids to my lab like I did with you four. I guess I'm not used to eating with other people," The Professor said as tomato sauce dripped onto his shirt.

"Even I eat better than he does," Max thought to himself after swallowing a piece of cheese from the slice.

The Professor got up from the table and picked up his plate. He walked over to the sink and dropped his dish inside. "Well I'm done for the night. Guess I still have a lot to learn about table manners…never could quite get those down in the last couple of decades."

"Byeeeee!!!" Ash waved as the Professor walked out of the room.

May looked down toward Ash and winked at him, "You're doing a great job eating your dinner, Ash!"

Ash nodded as he swallowed another small piece of pizza.

"Well of course he's eating well," Brock said, "This IS Ash we're talking about. He eats just as much as a baby as he did when he was older!"

"Ha, eating and battling with Pokemon are the two things Ash likes to do best," Max said, "But still, I never would have thought I'd ever see Ash as an infant. It's just…really crazy just thinking that the Professor created a device that does that!"

"It's not really as strange as you might think Max," Brock said as he just finished the last bit of his slice.

"What do you mean?" May asked.

"For one thing, since I've been traveling with Ash over the years all kind of crazy stuff happened to us. In fact, Ash got turned into a Pikachu once by a witch," Brock told them as he crossed his arms on the table.

"Re-ally? You got turned into a Pikachu, Ash?" May asked as she looked down at the infant.

"Yep, it was back when we were traveling through the Johto region. You remember don't you, Pikachu?" Brock asked.

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu nodded.

"That's crazy!" an amazed Max said.

"Not only that," Brock continued, "But I was also turned into a plastic doll by a psychic Gym leader once."

"You're kidding," May raised an eyebrow.

"Nope," Brock replied, "I'm not lying, Misty and I were turned into plastic dolls when Ash tried to challenge a certain psychic Gym leader back in Kanto. We narrowly managed to get turned back to normal!"

May and Max looked at Ash. Max raised his glasses back up on his nose.

"That's nuts, I guess Ash and my sister getting turned into infants wasn't such a strange thing after all then," Max said.

"Guess not," Brock said cheerfully.

"D-one!" Ash slapped the table with his hands.

"Heh, all finished, Ash?" May asked as she noticed him finish eating all the cut pieces of pizza she gave him.

"Y-ea!" Ash shouted.

"Hey, May, let me hold Ash for a bit! You've been holding him ever since he woke up practically," Max said impatiently.

"Hey, I had to have Ash sit on my lap so I could watch him eat. I didn't want him to choke, you know," May scolded her brother.

"Yeah alright, but I really want to hold him now. I really wanted to play with him again but never got the chance. Come to me, Ash!" Max said as he reached his hands toward Ash.

Max closed his hands on Ash's arms as he tried to lift him out of May's lap. Ash suddenly looked nervous and a bit frantic as Max tried to lift him.

"Nononononononononoono!" Ash shouted as he tried to pull away from Max's grip.

"What's the matter, Ash?" Max asked still holding onto him.

"NOOOOO!" Ash screamed as he pulled out of Max's grip and grabbed May tightly around the chest.

Ash gripped onto May's body tightly as he looked toward Max with the corner of his eye, trying to make sure he didn't reach for him again.

"Looks like Ash doesn't want to leave your arms, May!" Brock said exuberantly.

May stood up from the chair and held Ash above her in the air, "Awww, you like me best, don't you, Ash?"

Ash giggled as May brought him back toward her body and hugged him around tightly.

"But that's no fair! May was holding him all night, I want to hold him for a while!" Max said frustrated as he got up from his seat.

May laughed as she rubbed her cheek against Ash's small face affectionately, "I can't help it if he likes me best, Max, he won't even let me put him down now!"

"Ash must really feel safe and secure with you. He certainly seems more attached to you than when I was holding him," Brock said.

"Ahaaa!" Ash smiled as he gripped May's hair and tugged on it.

May started jovially prancing around the room holding Ash in her arms as Brock put the rest of the dishes in the sink. Max watched as he could feel himself getting more and more upset that Ash didn't want to play with him.

"Hey, remember not to pull on my hair too hard, OK?" May reminded the infant.

Ash grinned and purposely pulled on her hair a bit harder, "Heeheee!"

Max got up from the table as he was too upset. He kicked the table with his foot and started marching out of the room. "My sister always gets to do everything," he muttered as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Max…wait," May looked over to the doorway only to see Max already left.

Pikachu jumped off the table and quickly ran after Max to try and comfort him. Brock walked next to May as Ash continued to hold her around while his right hand tugged on her brunette hair.

"Looks like Max is getting a bit jealous that Ash is giving you so much more attention," Brock said softly.

"I…know," May said, staring into Ash's little eyes, "But you saw how Ash didn't want to leave my arms and go to him. I can't help it if Ash would rather play with me."

"It's not uncommon for babies to show favoritism to people they feel more comfortable with than others," Brock said, "Ash has certainly gotten along a lot better with you than with me, I don't think I've ever seen him as cheerful as he is now. He's even not getting himself into as much mischief as before."

"But…why is that, Brock? Does Ash really like me more than my brother?" May asked in a stern voice.

Brock sighed, "Well I imagine he still has some faint memory of you as a teen. Not to mention he played with you when you were both infants, although I'm not sure if he made the connection that you're the same person who was playing with him before when you were both babies. On the other hand, I guess he notices all the warm affection and kindness you've shown him since you held him, and he's just returning those same feelings to you."

May rubbed her hand through Ash's black hair and looked at him passionately. She turned to Brock, "But what should I do about my brother? If the Professor is going to make another batch of that formula, he could turn Ash back to normal sometime late tomorrow. My brother would be devastated if he didn't get to hold him at least one more time before infant Ash is gone forever…and…I don't want to make it look like I'm keeping Ash all to myself…I want you and my brother to play with him too a lot more before he gets turned back."

"Heh, don't worry, May. Ash may be really attached to you, but I'm sure we can get him to open up to Max again sometime tonight or tomorrow. Anyway, I might as well go check up on your brother. Pikachu followed him, but who knows where they went. Your brother looked really depressed and heartbroken too. I'll go check on him and cheer him up," Brock said as he started walking toward the doorway.

Ash let go of May's hair and started resting his head against her shoulder. The little infant was apparently getting sleepy once again. May's eyes watered as she felt Ash's warmth leaning against her.

"Brock!" she called out suddenly.

"What is it?" Brock asked, turning around.

"Th-thank you. Thanks for helping with my brother," May smiled.

"No problem. Now you just have to take care of Ash in the meantime. He looks like he's about to fall asleep, why don't you head back to the guestroom for the night and rest with him?" Brock told her.

"You're right…maybe I should," May said as she rubbed the infants' back with her hand.

Brock walked out of the kitchen but stopped half-way in the doorway, he turned back one more time to May and smiled. May noticed that Brock was about to say one more thing.

"Remember, as an infant, Ash is seeing you through completely different eyes. At this point of time…you're his whole world May."

"Re-really? He thinks I'm…his whole world…?" May asked confused.

"Sure, keep that in mind as you put him to bed. You're pretty much everything to him right now…don't let him down," Brock gave May a thumbs up just as he walked out of the doorway.

May stood there silently holding a half asleep Ash in her arms. Ash lifted his head from May's shoulder. He let out a yawn and began rubbing his eyes.

"Ash," May said softly as she carried him out of the room.

***

The Professor was walking through the hallway on the second floor as he saw a rampaging Max running his way.

"Hey there, kid, finished eating?" The Professor asked cheerfully.

"Get out of my way!" a distressed Max said as he pushed the Professor aside and ran down the hall, wiping the tears out of his eyes.

"Gee, what's got him so upset?" the Professor scratched his scalp, "These emo kids these days, what a handful."

"Pika pi!" Pikachu shouted as it ran between the Professor's legs and after Max.

"Would'ja watch where you're going you little mouse! You almost made me trip!" The Professor shouted as he struggled to regain his balance.

Pikachu turned it's head while still running after Max. The Professor shook his head and turned to the right just as Brock nearly ran into him.

"The hell!" The Professor exclaimed as Brock nearly fell over him.

"Sorry, Professor, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Max came down this way right?" Brock asked while turning the corner.

"Yes, yes. What's the matter anyway? Someone ate his slice of pizza when he wasn't looking or something?" the Professor asked sarcastically.

"Nah, nothing like that," Brock replied as he continued to run down the corridor.

The Professor rolled his eyes, "These kids are going to be the death of me….sheesh." He then walked down the hallway scratching his behind as he went.

*~*~*

May walked up to the guest room door as she turned the handle with her right hand while still holding Ash. She turned the light on in the room and placed Ash on her bed.

"Wha…no…?" Ash said softly as he sat up on May's bed.

"Don't worry I'm not going anywhere, Ash. I just want to take off my shoes and my bandana before I put you to sleep," she said.

May walked up to the dresser and noticed Ash's little hat and blue sweatshirt that was placed there earlier in the morning. May picked up Ash's miniature hat and smiled, "Heh, good thing Ash and I had our Pokeballs in our carrying bags, otherwise our Pokemon would have shrunk when that ray gun hit us too…hehe."

May realized that she couldn't put Ash to sleep in his sleeping bag since he was an infant. She had to sleep next to him, so she decided to let Ash sleep with her in her bed for tonight.

Ash watched contently as May untied her bandana from her head. Her hair began to flow down more freely now, as he brunette hair was no longer confined by the red bandana. May fixed her hair as she placed her bandana on top of her fanny pack on the floor. She also took off her shoes and socks and placed them next to her fanny pack.

Ash almost dozed off sitting there watching her, he was struggling to keep his eyes opened. May looked at the clock and noticed it was 7:30pm. It was still pretty early, but May felt tired herself after all that's happened in one day, and was willing to turn in for the night.

"Might as well get undressed too and put on my sleeping clothes," she said.

May opened her fanny pack and took out her yellow T-shirt. She felt a bit uneasy changing with Ash in the room, but she realized he was only an infant and it didn't really matter much. She unzipped her red outfit and pulled her arms out of it's sleeves. She stood there in her pink bra as she placed her red outfit inside her fanny pack. May pulled a bit on the cup of her bra in order to fix something that was bothering her all day. She turned her back toward Ash's view as she quickly unstrapped her bra. Ash watched naively as she then quickly pulled her yellow T-shirt on over her body. She then slid off her white skirt which was over her blue shorts, which she then placed away but decided to leave her shorts on to sleep in. She looked down at herself and pressed down on her yellow T-shirt to make sure everything was on and glanced back at the infant.

May turned to Ash as she noticed he was watching her the entire time. "Heh, I'm almost ready to sleep too. Just wait until I finish brushing my teeth ok?" May winked at the infant as she headed toward the bathroom.

Ash nodded as he held onto his feet, waiting for May to return. A few minutes later, May had quickly finished brushing her teeth and was walking back to her bed. She climbed up onto her bed and opened the covers.

"Ash…do you want to sleep with me?" May asked softly.

Ash smiled and spoke a single word, "Yea."

"OK, you can sleep next to me in my bed. After all, you can't sleep in your sleeping bag on the floor as a little infant could you? I don't think you'd want to sleep anywhere but near me tonight either, huh?" she giggled.

Ash smiled and crawled toward her. May reached for him and picked him up. She then placed him on the pillow next to her, and brought the covers back up so it covered them both just up to their shirts. May rested herself on the left of the bed while Ash was curled up to the right of her.

"I'll hold you ok, Ash? We can sleep together tonight," May said softly as she brought her arms around Ash's little chubby body and brought him closer to her own.

Ash's back was pressed up against May's chest, as both of them were facing toward the right while resting their heads on the pillow. May's hand was holding onto the boy's torso under the covers, as she made sure their bodies were always in contact.

May leaned her chest against the boy while he leaned his back against her. May whispered softly, "Goodnight, Ash."

Ash smiled and closed his eyes, placing his little hand on top of hers underneath the blanket.

The two of them slept together in the same bed, with May holding onto Ash the entire night. The boy felt content as he could constantly feel May's warmth sleeping next to him. He felt secure and protected with May beside him, as he didn't cry or wake up the entire night. Side by side they slept together peacefully, as if there was not a care in the world.

 

 

 

 


	9. Baby Ash gets into mischief!

**Zero:Hi....**

**Aj: Whats with the face?**

**Zero: I start school today......**

**Mike: haha!**

**Zero: Leave!**

***mike leave***

**Aj: ZerocielX doesn't own pokemon.**

****

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**"Baby Ash gets into mischief!"**

 

"I don't care!" Max cried, crossing his arms.

Pikachu stared reluctantly. Brock stood a few feet away from the boy not sure how to approach him.

"Max, you know Ash is a _baby,_ he's not exactly going to show the same kind of openness toward everyone. You saw how he was kicking and pushing Pikachu away when he woke up," Brock said.

"I know that! That's not the point," a discouraged Max yelled before barging out of the room.

"Hmmm," Brock said, exchanging glances with Pikachu.

Max ran into the hallway on the 2nd floor. He continued sulking as he noticed most of the machines had been shut down for the night again. It was already dark on the first floor, which was a bit surprising as the Professor shut down the place earlier than the previous night.

Brock and Pikachu ran up beside Max, trailing behind him in the hallway. Max noticed and turned his head to them hastily.

"What are you guys following me for?" Max snapped.

"We're wondering we're you're going, that's all," Brock replied.

"Pika, pika," Pikachu added.

"I'm going to BED! There's no use staying up out here right now," Max said as he turned around.

"Good. Then maybe you'll see why Ash acted the way he did. I think May and Ash have already gone to sleep for the night," Brock said.

"You don't understand," Max said, putting his hands on the railing, "I know that Ash may like playing with certain people over others. I'm just annoyed that my sister acts like he's hers to keep!"

"She didn't…" Brock tried to say.

"When May was a baby too they used to play together. And it was nice being the older sibling for once, but now that she's grown up again it's like she's taken full control over Ash. She doesn't have to be so greedy, I just want to play with Ash one more time before he's turned back to normal. It's just not fair," Max said as he kicked the railing.

"Max, I talked to your sister after you ran out of the kitchen. She knows how you feel, and I'm willing to bet that she'll let you play with Ash tomorrow. She certainly doesn't want to keep him for herself," Brock sighed.

"Yeah, sure," Max said sarcastically as he walked over to the guest room door. Max turned the doorknob and opened the door slightly, noticing the lights were off.

Max's expression soon changed from upset and frustrated to surprised and bemused as he saw May and Ash sleeping together in the same bed. The light from the hallway lit up the room slightly, but not enough to wake either Ash or May up. Brock and Pikachu entered the room alongside Max as they saw the two sleeping together.

Max looked innocently at May and Ash, who both had content smiles on as they slept. They were in the same positions as before, with May holding Ash's torso under the blanket while they were both facing to the right.

"They…look peaceful together don't they?" Max whispered, hoping to not wake them up.

"They really do. I don't want to disturb them…it would be a shame," Brock whispered back, closing the door gently behind him.

Max wondered if he had been a tad too harsh on his sister. He walked toward his bed on the right side of the room, still admiring the sight. Just the sight of the two sleeping side by side peacefully was enough for him to calm down.

Brock went into the bathroom to start brushing his teeth for the night. He chuckled to himself, "I wonder how Ash is going to remember this when he's older again…that'll be something."

*~*~*~~*

The next morning Max woke up first. He was wearing his white t-shirt and green shorts. He hopped out of bed and made sure not to accidentally step on Brock who was sleeping in his sleeping bag in the center of the two beds. He glanced back at his sister's bed and saw that their bodies had shifted positions since last night. Ash was now facing toward May, as their foreheads were leaning against one another. May's hand was on Ash's shoulder, and some strands of her hair were resting on top of his head. Their faces were a mere inch apart. Max smiled contently as it looked like they made sure they were still holding onto each other all night. He quickly opened the door to see if the Professor was up.

Max ran down the stairs and darted for the Professor's sleeping quarters. He was eager to discover if the Professor was awake. He knocked gently on the door and waited a few seconds.

There was no answer.

Max knocked again, this time a bit louder than before. After a few seconds passed, again there was no answer.

Max curiously turned the doorknob to see if the door would open. To his surprise, the door was unlocked! He peeked inside only to see the room vacant. He saw the Professor's bed was already messy, so he figured that the Professor had already gotten up. The boy shut the door as he then started wandering around the lab looking for him. The machines in the lab were still off, so he wondered where the Professor could be.

Max's mind last night was completely on his sister and Ash. For some reason, he really liked the fact that his best friend and older sister looked so _happy_ resting together. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he found something about it endearing. Nevertheless, Max wanted to find the Professor quickly to find out if this would indeed be the last day of infant Ash. If the Professor was going to make another batch of his #69 formula, Max wanted to make sure to spend as much time with infant Ash as possible before he was ready to turn him back to normal.

"Where could he be?" Max asked out loud quickly, running around the lab. The boy then turned to the door on the left side of the lab. It was the same small room that the Professor had turned his sister back to normal in. Could the Professor be in there?

Max ran up to the door and put his hand on the handle. He could hear murmuring inside, and Max realized that he was probably inside! He smiled as he turned the doorknob.

He opened the door and gasped, "What the heck!?"

Max saw the Professor tied to a chair with a handkerchief in his mouth. Beside him stood Jessie, James and Meowth who were rummaging through his desk drawers.

"Not you guys again! What are you doing!?" Max shouted.

Jessie, James and Meowth turned to the boy.

"What are you doing up so early, kid?" James asked.

"James, you moron!" Jessie threatened, "I thought you said this plan would work if we got up early in the morning since the twerps would all still be asleep!"

"Well how did I know one of them was going to be an early bird?" James retorted.

Meowth yawned, "We got up so early for nuthin' then! We feline Pokemon need many hours of sleep you know."

The Professor started rocking his chair, trying to say something while the handkerchief covered his mouth.

Max stood bravely in front of the villains. "You guys broke into the lab again!? What are you trying to do this time!?"

"Found it!" Jessie said chuckling. She held up in her hands the Professor's ray gun which turned Ash and May into infants.

"Good work, Jess, let's get the heck out of here now before the rest of them wake up!" James said quickly.

"Give that back!" Max demanded.

"Suuure we will, kiddo. Hey, Jessie, why don't you try that thingamabob out?" Meowth asked.

"You're right, Meowth! What's the point of stealing it without making sure it works first? This turned the other twerps into infants, let's see how it works on this one!" Jessie exclaimed as she aimed the ray gun at Max.

The Professor shook his head nervously while trying to tell Max to run.

Max backed up in fear as Jessie was about to push the button. "Hey…wait a second!" Max yelled.

"Sorry, wait time is over!" Jessie sneered as she pushed the button.

The rays of yellow light began appearing on the dish of the gun as the light slowly began to accumulate together.

"This thing is taking forever to fire!" James bellowed.

"I thought this was instant-infant-i-zation!" Jessie pondered.

"Gah!" Max yelled as he sharply turned and ran out of the room screaming, "WAKE UP! TEAM ROCKET IS HERE!"

"He's getting away!" Meowth yelled.

Jessie, James and Meowth ran outside the small room and into the main area of the lab. Max was frantically running up the stairs to get back up onto the hallway of the second floor.

"GUYS, WAKE UP!" Max cried.

"That thing looks like it's ready, why don't you aim with it?" James asked.

Jessie pointed the ray gun up at Max as he was climbing the stairs. The light had fully accumulated and shot out a beam of light in Max's direction!

Max frantically screamed at the top of his lungs before he ducked to the ground, "WAKE UPPPPP!!!!!"

Inside the guest room, Max's scream woke Brock and Pikachu up. Brock sat up in his sleeping bag, "Pikachu, did you just hear Max screaming?"

Pikachu nodded and jumped off Max's bed. Brock, who was wearing his green T-shirt and brown pants jumped out of his sleeping bag and walked past May and Ash who were still sound asleep. He opened the door and ran out with Pikachu and then shut the door behind him.

Brock stood on the railing on the second floor and ran down the hallway with Pikachu following. "Max!?" Brock yelled.

Max frantically held his hands over his head as the beam of light had struck him!

"Ghhaaa!" Max cried as the light completely engulfed him.

"Bulls eye," Jessie said as she snapped her fingers.

Nice shot," Meowth complimented, "Now we can see if this gun is the real deal."

Team Rocket watched as a blinding light began to engulf the entire room. They started to shield their eyes from the intense brightness.

Brock and Pikachu stopped in their tracks as the light from the other end of the hallway began to shine in their eyes as well. "Oh damnit! I hope this isn't what I think it is!" Brock shouted while shielding his eyes.

"Chu….pikaka!" Pikachu stuggled to say.

The Professor saw Team Rocket gloating while shielding their eyes from the open doorway. His face was furious as he struggled to free himself from the rope that bound him to the chair. He knew he had to get free and get to his Pokeball that was in a lower drawer of his desk. If he could send out his Tyranitar, he would be able to stop Team Rocket from stealing his invention like he did before. The Professor tried moving his hands and body but it was of no use, Team Rocket had tied him down too tightly.

"Aargh…" Brock grunted as he inched his way closer to the source of light.

The light of the room then began to slowly fade. Brock, Pikachu and Team Rocket started to remove their hands from their eyes as the bright light started to disappear. Brock then darted across the hallway to finally see what was going on.

He kept running until he saw something laying right above the stairs, "What the…" he gasped as he stopped in his tracks.

A small chubby infant with jet black hair and tiny glasses was laying face first on the floor. The small boy sat up and raised his head as the glasses fell off his face and onto the ground.

"So it DOES work. Amazing!" James said happily.

Jessie held the gun in her hands and began examining it from all positions, "This is a pretty nifty toy."

"We got what we came for now let's scram before any of those other twerps wake up! The noise probably woke them by now!" Meowth said hastily.

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Brock shouted as he ran up to an infant Max, who was sitting curiously on the ground.

"PIKAPIKA!" Pikachu shouted as it spotted Team Rocket on the lower level.

"Nice going with all your screaming, James! You woke them up!" Jessie said angrily as she raised a fist at James.

"I didn't wake them up you nutcase! It was the boy screaming that did it," James replied.

A very pissed off Brock picked up infant Max in his hands and ran down the stairs to confront Team Rocket. Pikachu slid down the banister of the stairs following him.

"This time you guys have gone just too far!" Brock screamed at Team Rocket, "Where is the Professor?"

Brock then ran forward while holding a very confused infant Max, and saw the open door of the room the Professor was tied up in. The Professor looked at Brock with relief, and then looked at infant Max with astonishment.

"Professor!" Brock yelled as he ran inside the room.

Brock placed infant Max on the floor as he took the handkerchief out from the Professor's mouth.

"What in the world took you so long to wake up!?" the Professor snapped.

"Well gee, you're real grateful," Brock said sarcastically.

"C'mon, let's get out of here!" James said quickly.

"Not yet," Jessie snickered, "I want to make sure they don't follow us. This is one plan I won't have ruined. This device is too amazing to lose again."

Jessie ran into the doorway and saw Brock trying to pull apart the ropes that tied the Professor. Jessie snickered and raised the ray gun and pointed it at Brock and the Professor.

"What! What are you doing?" Brock replied in horror.

"Just making sure my perfect scheme comes together," Jessie said.

"I think it would be better just to make a run for it now!" James bellowed as he tried to change her mind.

"Yeah let's go!" Meowth added.

"NO!" Jessie replied, "The boy and girl twerp are infants somewhere in the lab. The littliest twerp was just turned into an infant. And now if I get the big one and the old geyser, we'd be scot-free to make a break for it without anyone following us!"

"You're going to turn them all into babies?" James asked.

"Yep. This is the most brilliant idea I've ever had. Now we'll finally get away with a plan for once," Jessie said as she aimed at Brock and the Professor.

Brock raised an eyebrow. _Jessie thinks that May is still an infant, she doesn't know that May was already turned back to normal,_ Brock thought.

"SNAP OUT OF IT, KID!" The Professor shouted, "Go get my Tyranitar and send it after these three, quickly!

"Good idea!" Brock said as he stood up.

"There's a big hole in that plan," James said.

"PIKA PIK!" Pikachu started readying an electric attack while standing in front of infant Max.

James reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball with a large dent in it. "We already have your Tyranitar, we found it in the desk. We were beaten by your Tyranitar last time, but this time we were ready for it!"

"DAMN!" The Professor grinded his teeth, "You took my Pokeball out of my desk while searching for my ray gun!"

"We're out of options…." Brock said quickly, trying to think of a plan.

"PIKA PIKA," Pikachu threatened.

"I wouldn't do that, Pikachu!" Meowth waved his hand, "If you fire an electric attack, Jessie will zap you before you even blink! Gee, I wonder. Wouldn't Pikachu turn back into a Pichu if he were zapped?"

"Pika?" Pikachu said holding back it's electricity.

"Aha! Good going Meowth," Jessie said as she continued to aim at them with the ray gun.

Brock stood there angrily but realized there was little he could do. He thought, _I don't even have my Foretress with me, how can I defend Max and the Professor and get us out of this mess? And if she fires at us, we're pretty much screwed._

"Ah what the hey….I might as well zap you guys anyway!" Jessie stated.

"WHAT?!" Brock replied, astonished.

Jessie pressed on the red button on the side of the gun as the light began to accumulate on the sides of the dish again. Jessie sneered as her plan was taking full effect.

The Professor sat there grinning as the light from the gun began to fade instead of firing out.

"Huh?" Brock asked.

Jessie looked down at the gun, "Why….why didn't it work this time?"

"Did you break it?" Meowth asked.

"NO!" Jessie replied.

"That's not it. You lunatics don't realize that the gun needs time to recharge!" The Professor said. grinning, "It wasn't designed to fire blast after blast, it only has enough energy to work once a day!"

"What? You mean this thing only has enough juice to work once a day? Drat!" an enraged Jessie said.

A glimmer of hope appeared in Brock's eye, "Heh, looks like you guys are the ones out of options now."

"Maybe biting off more than we could chew wasn't such a good idea after all, huh?" Jessie said nervously as she looked back at James and Meowth.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Brock commanded.

"PIKA!" Pikachu shouted as it released a bolt of energy.

"MOVE IT!" Jessie yelled as she ran out of the doorway and toward the entrance of the lab. James and Meowth quickly followed her to escape Pikachu's attack.

The electric attack had hit the ground but Team Rocket had outrun the attack. Brock ran outside the room with Pikachu and back into the main area of the lab.

He turned back to the Professor before giving chase to Team Rocket, "Stay there and look after Max!" he instructed. Brock and Pikachu then quickly ran to the front doors as Team Rocket ran out of the lab.

The Professor looked down at the ropes that still bound him to the chair, "As if I have any choice in the matter?" he asked himself.

Max looked up at the Professor and started sucking his thumb. The young infant didn't make a sound and just sat there watching everything that was going on.

"Uh…hey there, kiddo! You wouldn't happen to have a knife on you by any chance would'ja?" The Professor asked rhetorically.

The only response from Max that could be heard was the sucking of his thumb.

*~*~~*

"Don't run down the center!" James warned.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Jessie said as she held onto the ray gun with her right hand.

Team Rocket quickly ran slightly to the left as they exited the lab before running straight ahead. As soon as Team Rocket was a few feet ahead standing in the grassy field, they looked at the entrance, waiting for Brock and Pikachu to run outside.

Brock stepped one foot outside the lab and saw Team Rocket a mere ten feet ahead of him. "There they are Pikachu!" he shouted.

Team Rocket grinned as Brock and Pikachu started running straight toward them. Brock noticed the grass he was stepping on seemed a little uneven, but before he knew what was going on he already fell into their trap.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked as it stood next to Brock.

The ground suddenly collapsed below Brock and Pikachu's feet. "AHHH!" Brock yelled as he and Pikachu fell down into a pitfall that Team Rocket had dug outside the lab.

"Yes, it worked!" Meowth shouted in joy.

Jessie and James started dancing jovially over their plan working.

"Ugh…I think I've lost count over the number of times we've fallen for this trap over the years…" Brock groaned, rubbing his side.

"Chu…pika," Pikachu said, lifting it's face up from the dirt.

Team Rocket gazed down at Brock and Pikachu from up above.

"You can never be too careful with a get-away scheme," James grinned, rubbing his hands together.

"Yep, looks like digging that pitfall before we broke into the lab was a brilliant idea after all," Jessie laughed.

Brock stood up as his body was still a little sore after the fall. "Where do you guys think you're going?" Brock demanded at Team Rocket.

"We're flying the coop. You on the other hand will be having a nice time trapped down there for awhile," Meowth winked.

"Let's go," Jessie said, "We've won, all the twerps are out of commission."

"We're not going to try and capture Pikachu?" James asked.

"What for?" Jessie bemused, "We already have the Professor's Tyranitar and his ray gun. The device alone will be enough for the boss to change his attitude toward us. And who needs a puny Pikachu when we have a Tyranitar?"

"Good point," James said as he examined the dented Pokeball.

"Oh well, so long! Haha!" Jessie sneered as the three of them started running into the forest at the edge of the field.

"Damnit!" Brock said as kicked a rock in the pitfall, "Team Rocket got away, and Max is an infant! And without that gun, I don't think we'll have a way to turn Ash or Max back to normal."

Pikachu lowered it's ears as it was worried that it would never see it's trainer fully grown again.

"The Professor is still tied to that chair and we have no way of climbing out of here. If only I had my Foretress with me we may have been able to dig our way out. May better wake up soon, she's the only one who can get us out of this mess!" Brock said, crossing his arms.

~*~*~*

Inside the guest room, May started to wake up as she moved her forehead away from Ash's. The girl sat upright in her bed not knowing the disaster that had happened to her friends and brother. She stretched her arms as she looked passionately at the sleeping infant next to her. "He's so adorable," she thought, "He didn't let go of me the entire night."

She took off the covers and gently got up off the bed without waking Ash up. She looked over at the other bed and noticed that Max, Brock and Pikachu weren't in the room. She figured they must have gotten up early for some reason, and didn't think too much about it otherwise.

A groggy Ash started reaching with his hands to feel if May was still next to him on the bed. The boy's eyes were still closed as his hands reached for the girl but only touched the sheets instead. Ash nervously opened his eyes and started to cry when he realized that May wasn't next to him.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ash cried.

May turned quickly as she noticed Ash had gotten up. "I'm right here Ash!" May said softly as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Ash looked up at May as he continued to cry while reaching out for her. "Awww…Ash. I told you I wasn't going to leave you," she said as she picked up the boy and held him close to her body. Ash wrapped his hands around May's shoulders as he started to feel safe with the girl holding him again.

May realized that the boy woke up as soon as he noticed that she wasn't leaning against him on the bed. She chuckled as she squeezed her friend in her arms.

"Had a nice sleep?" she asked as Ash looked up at her.

"Y-yea…" Ash whimpered.

"The others must have gotten up already, their beds are empty," May said, getting up from her bed while holding the infant and walked toward the bathroom.

Ash looked around and noticed that they were the only ones in the room. He gripped onto May's yellow T-shirt tightly, wondering where Pikachu and the others were.

May soon realized she was in a bit of a problem. She wanted to go into the bathroom to shower, brush her teeth, and do her morning routine, but she knew that Ash wouldn't let her put him down. There was also nobody else in the room that could watch Ash, and she certainly was uneasy with bringing Ash into the bathroom with her as she did her business.

"Hmmm," May pondered as she cracked open the guest room door and looked out into the hallway of the lab.

The lab was quiet. The machines were off, and there was no sign of Brock or the others. She briefly looked down at the first floor of the lab before going back into the room and shutting the door behind her.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone out there…maybe they're all outside or something?" May pondered as she looked in the bathroom.

She noticed that most of the towels were still dry. She went up to Max's toothbrush and felt the bristles.

"I knew it! My brother didn't brush his teeth or take a shower before running downstairs! Must I do everything for him? If it weren't for me my brother probably wouldn't wash himself for days!" May said, rolling her eyes.

May walked out of the bathroom, carrying Ash in her arms. She placed Ash back down on the bed as she sat next to him.

"Wha?" Ash asked, standing while holding onto May's shoulders for support.

"Ash," she said as she turned to the infant, "I don't know where the others are, but I'm going to have to go into the bathroom for a little while. Can you stay here on the bed and not get yourself into trouble?"

"Wha? Nono!" Ash shook his head nervously, gripping onto May's right shoulder.

"Ash…oh c'mon. I'm going to be riiiiiight there," May said, pointing to the bathroom door.

Ash looked at what she was pointing at. "Listen," May continued, "If you want me to play with you later, I have to leave you here until I'm finished with myself in the bathroom. I won't even be that far away, so there's nothing for you to be scared about."

Ash let go of May's arm and plopped himself down on the bed. He looked a bit frustrated as he wanted to go with May wherever she went.

"Hey I know!" May said as she got up off the bed, "I can get one of my Pokemon to watch you while I'm in the shower!"

May reached into her fanny pack which was on the floor in the middle of the room. She moved her clothes aside as she took out a Pokeball from the pocket.

"Come out, Munchlax!" she said.

Ash watched as the white light formed into a round, glutton Pokemon known as Munchlax. Its fur was dark blue and the Pokemon had a rather absent-minded expression on it's face.

"Alright, Munchlax, I'm putting you in charge of Ash while I'm in the shower. Make sure you play with him and that he doesn't get himself into trouble," she instructed.

"Munch?" Munchlax pointed to infant Ash in a confused manner.

"Oh yeah, that's right," May said as she slapped her forehead, "You didn't know, but Ash was turned into an infant….I was too….but we'll be turning Ash back to normal later today. I just need you to watch him for a few minutes while I'm in the bathroom."

Ash had a devious look on his face as he watched May place Munchlax's Pokeball on Max's bed. The young boy was quickly thinking up a plan to follow May without being watched by her Pokemon.

May picked up her red shirt, her white skirt, her pink bra, and her bandana from the floor. "I'll change into my clothes in the bathroom," May said as she walked to the bathroom door and turned the handle.

Munchlax hopped on the bed next to Ash. Ash looked at Munchlax with intense hatred and contempt.

"OK, Ash? Play with Munchlax until I come out," May winked at the boy as she went inside the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She decided not to lock the door however, just in case she had to run out of the bathroom quickly if Ash got himself into trouble.

Ash blushed as he saw May wink at him. "Heehee," he chuckled.

"Lax…Munchlax!" Munchlax gestured as it held out its hand toward Ash.

Ash looked back at the Pokemon with disgust and fiercely slapped its hand away.

"MUNCH?!" Munchlax said, surprised.

Ash hopped off the bed without thinking and fell to the floor on his hands and knees, the bed was a little higher up than the infant expected. The boy rubbed his legs as he started walking toward Max's bed.

"Munchlax?" Munchlax asked as it hopped off the bed and followed the infant.

Inside the bathroom, May had placed her clothes on top of the hamper near the door. She had just finished urinating, and was now brushing her teeth in the mirror. She started to wonder how well Munchlax and Ash were getting along.

"Gogogogogoogo a-way!" Ash shouted as he tried pushing Munchlax away from him.

"Munchlax, Munch!" Munchlax tried to reassure the infant without being too harsh with him.

Ash's eyebrows raised as he picked up one of May's shoes from the floor and quickly threw it at the Pokemon. Munchlax tried blocking it but the shoe smacked it right in the head.

"Laaaax," Munchlax sighed as it rubbed its head.

"HAH!" Ash said jovially as he picked up May's other shoe and threw it straight at Munchlax's head.

**WHACK!**

The shoe hit Munchlax square in the face and knocked it over. Ash giggled as Munchlax groaned on the floor.

Ash quickly looked up and remembered that May had placed Munchlax's Pokeball on Max's bed. The boy started pulling on the sheets of Max's bed in order to get the ball to fall off the bed.

Munchlax started growling at the infant as it was getting a bit annoyed with him. "Munchlax!" it shouted as it tried to reprimand Ash.

Ash ignored the Pokemon and successfully grabbed the Pokeball as it fell off the bed. "Hmmmm," Ash pondered as he held the Pokeball in his hands.

May turned on the faucets for the showerhead in the bathtub. She lifted off her yellow T-shirt and placed it on top of her other clothes. She then slid off her shorts and undergarments and placed those aside as well.

She looked naively at her body in the mirror. She knew she had a rather well developed body for her age, as her mother had told her about puberty when she was only eight since that's when she started developing. May was only one full cup size smaller than her mother, as her mother had bought her a full B cup bra when she turned ten years old. She pressed against her chest quickly before smiling at herself in the mirror. She then stepped into the bathtub and closed the curtains behind her.

"MUUUUUUNNNNNCH!" a frustrated Munchlax shouted as it tried to pull its Pokeball out of Ash's hands.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Ash shouted as he pulled back on the ball.

Ash continued pulling on the Pokeball as he picked up May's fanny pack from the floor and started whacking Munchlax over the head with it.

**Whack! Whack! Whack!** _"Munch?" "Munch?" "Munch?"_

A frustrated Munchlax kept getting pounded on the head by Ash as the two continued to pull on the ball.

"Gaaagyooo!" Ash shouted.

"LAAAAAAAX!" Munchlax responded as the pounding to its head was too much.

Munchlax let go of the Pokeball as it tumbled backward. Ash laughed as he dropped the fanny pack to the floor and held the Pokeball in his hands.

Ash pointed the Pokeball at Munchlax.

"Munchlax!" Munchlax said nervously waving its arms.

"Heeeheee!" Ash giggled as a red laser came out of the Pokeball and shot at the Pokemon.

The beam then recalled Munchlax back into its Pokeball.

 **SUCCESS!** Ash grinned with amusement as he successfully got rid of Munchlax. Ash rubbed his right cheek in delight and then tossed the Pokeball aside as he went to look for May.

May was showering in the bathtub as she was standing under the showerhead, letting her hair get wet. She picked up a bar of soap from the side and started rubbing it against her arms. She also squeezed some shampoo out of a container and started rubbing it into her hair.

"One thing I gotta say about the Professor, he knows how to keep a bathroom clean," May said to herself and she rubbed her legs with the bar of soap.

Ash walked up to the closed bathroom door. The boy tried reaching for the doorknob but it was too high up for him to reach. He started whimpering as he tried hard standing on his tippy-toes to reach the doorknob to no avail. Ash quickly got frustrated and dropped himself to the ground.

He then noticed some light coming from underneath the bathroom door. Ash laid down on his stomach with his head turned as he tried to look under the bathroom door. All he could see was the bathtub at the very end, but no May. He sat himself up again as he rubbed his eyes calmly.

Ash was desperate to be reunited with May again. He looked around the room for anything that could help him reach the doorknob.

"Aha!" Ash exclaimed as he looked at his backpack and May's fanny pack.

May finished washing the soap off her body as she placed the bar of soap aside. Most of the shampoo had been washed off her hair as well. She turned the faucet as she let more warm water pulsate on her back. She loved taking warm showers, it was one of the things that helped relax her the most. May smiled contently as she stood there letting the water massage her neck and back.

Ash pulled both his green backpack and May's fanny pack toward the door. The boy thought up a plan quickly. He placed his backpack flat down against the door and then placed May's fanny pack on top of his bag. With the items included in the pocket of May's bag, it would give Ash the boost to reach the doorknob. Ash then took one step on top of May's fanny pack, he stood up slowly as he didn't want to topple over and fall. He then brought his other small chubby leg on top of the fanny pack. Ash now stood with the doorknob just above him which was in arms reach. Ash reached up and attempted to turn the knob.

"I sure hope Munchlax is taking good care of Ash. Why do I get the feeling that when I open the door I'll find the entire room in shambles?" May asked herself as she cracked her neck.

The girl pressed her hands alongside her body as she was just about ready to come out of the shower. She pressed her fingers alongside her breasts while staring at the white marble wall in the bathroom. She leaned her head against the wall as the water from the showerhead came down upon her.

"Heh," Ash chuckled as he turned the doorknob.

To his surprise, the door slightly opened! Ash gently stepped off the bags and quietly pushed the door open. The door creaked open with only the slightest sound. The young infant looked in the bathroom and saw May's silhouette through the shower curtains. With the door opened very gently and the curtains blocking her view, along with the sound of the showerhead that masked over any other sound in the room, not to mention with her relaxed state, May didn't know that Ash was inside the bathroom, standing by the entrance.

Ash smiled as he finally got a chance to be with May again. The boy really wanted nothing more than to be with someone that he trusted the most as an infant. He stepped two feet in the bathroom and stared curiously at the shower curtains that May was standing behind. The boy didn't realize that he was doing anything wrong, as an infant he had no morals of right or wrong, only instinct.

May picked her head up from against the wall and turned off the faucets. The showerhead turned off as the last droplets of water could be heard dripping on the bottom of the tub. The girl stretched out her arms in delight as she was all squeaky-clean and ready to find out where her brother and the others were.

Ash now stood four feet in front of the tub, scratching his head. The sound of the water turning off confused him, as the boy didn't know what May was doing in there. He watched naively as he was a bit perplexed as to what was going on.

May then pulled aside the shower curtains and stepped one foot out of the tub before realizing someone was standing there in front of her.

The girl spotted Ash who was staring at her naked body. Her face turned completely red as she felt her head spinning. The girl was embarrassed and shocked at the same time, so much that she nervously grabbed the shower curtains and pulled them back over her body while nearly falling over in the tub. She was desperately trying to register everything in her mind, as too many emotions were racing through her head at once for her to think properly. The girl nervously moved the curtains a little to the right as she poked her head out and peeked at the infant with a flustered expression.

"Hiiiiiiiiii!" Ash smiled naively and waved.

May's face blew up bashfully…..

 **"AAAAAAASSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"** she screamed at the top of her lungs in embarrassment.


	10. May's decision

* * *

**Zero:Poor May last chapter!**

**Aj &Mike: EWWWWWW MOM NAKED!**

**Zero: It will scare you for life.**

**Aj: LETS just start the chpater!**

**Zero: OK i own nothing!**

**Mike: what about your computer?**

**Zero: That i do own im starting!**

* * *

**Chapter 10** **"May's decision"** "There...yes…THAT one!" May frantically pointed.

Ash looked at the white towel that was hanging along the rack against the wall. He walked over to it and placed one hand on the towel before looking back at May for reassurance.

"Yeah….that's it! Can you hand me that towel, Ash?" May asked, regaining her composure.

May stood in the bathtub while holding the shower curtains over her body. Only her head and left arm were exposed trying to instruct Ash what to do. Her face was still bright red, and she felt incredibly flustered and bashful over having Ash see her nude just moments before. She continued to stammer in her speech, but was slowly but surely getting a grip on herself and trying to make the best of the situation. She didn't want to walk out of the tub and have Ash see her naked again, since she knew from her own experience that Ash would remember everything as a baby once he was himself again. She wanted the boy to take a towel off the rack and hand it to her so she could at least walk out with a towel wrapped around her body.

Ash was a bit taken back over May's reaction just moments before. He wasn't quite sure if she had yelled at him or not, as he didn't know if he was doing anything wrong. Still, the boy could sense something different about May's demeanor as she cautiously kept the shower curtains over her body. For a moment, Ash almost felt like crying as he was bewildered as to why May shouted his name. The boy managed to hold back his tears however once May started lowering her voice and calmly instructed him what to do.

"The white one, Ash, can you bring it to me?" May asked softly so she didn't startle the infant again.

With one tug, Ash pulled the towel off the rack as it fell to the floor. Ash bent down and picked up the huge towel which he ended up carrying over his head. He shyly walked up to the edge of the tub as he timidly held out the towel to his friend.

"Thanks…" May stammered as she took the towel from Ash's hand.

May nervously stepped behind the shower curtains as she wrapped the towel over her body. The top of the towel covered her breasts while exposing her shoulders and the bottom of the towel went just below her backside and covered right above her thighs.

Ash twiddled his thumbs waiting for May to step out of the bathtub.

Once her towel was wrapped tightly around her body, May took one deep breath behind the shower curtains. Her face wasn't as red as before, and she started breathing normally now after the hectic and embarrassing situation. The girl thought to herself, she knew she had to remain calm with her tone of voice and attitude toward the infant once she stepped out of the tub. She noticed that the boy was struggling to hold back his tears after she screamed his name, and she didn't want to frighten him by her body language or tone of voice again. She took another deep breath while looking down at herself, making sure her towel covered all the important areas.

May said to herself, "I can't stay mad at him, it's not like he knew what he was doing was wrong. After all he's still Ash….my…very best friend…even as a little infant. He's never let me down once during our journey through Hoenn and Kanto, I can't let him down either."

May pulled the shower curtains aside and contently looked at the infant as she stepped out of the tub. Ash was still twiddling his thumbs once he saw the girl approach him. He noticed that her chest and torso were covered by the towel, but her hair and body was still soaking wet from the shower. May kneeled down in front of the boy as some water dripped off her hair and onto the floor. She brought her face directly in front of his.

The young infant stared at her timidly as small tears formed in his eyes. He wasn't sure if May was about to yell at him or not, and was a bit cautious about approaching her.

May smiled and stared at the cute infants' chubby face. "I'm…sorry if I scared you before."

Ash managed to understand her as she stared into his eyes with her face a mere two inches apart. He rubbed his tears as his anxiety started to fade.

"You just surprised me that's all. I was taking a shower remember? I had to get all washed up," she said calmly as she stood back up.

Ash looked up at her as she started flicking back her wet hair in the mirror. She took the hair dryer off the side and began blow drying her hair. Ash watched naively as he was still a bit afraid to say anything. A few minutes had passed as May was just about finished drying her hair. He didn't take his eyes off her the entire time, as he sat on the floor patiently waiting for his friend to be finished.

May combed her slim brown hair to the sides with her fingers to get her hair back to it's usual style. She turned to Ash and smiled, "See? All done!"

A smile cracked on Ash's face as he got up off the floor and started to get anxious as to what she would do next. He started to get so excited that he accidentally bumped into the hamper and knocked it over, thus all of May's clothes that were resting on top of it fell onto the floor.

"Oh," Ash said timidly.

"Tee hee! Don't worry, Ash, it's OK. I'm…going to have to change into my clothes now. Can you…wait for me outside the door patiently?" May asked the infant.

"OK!" Ash said as he nodded his head.

"Thanks, Ash! Let me pick up my clothes first," May giggled as she picked her red shirt and white skirt up off the ground and held them in her hands.

Ash wanted to be helpful, so he went to pick up some clothes to hand to May. The first thing that caught his eye was the bright pink color, as Ash bent down and picked her bra up off the floor. He held the bra from the strap and began examining it curiously. He didn't quite know what it was, as he only fainted recalled seeing May take off her bra yesterday before he went to sleep. He started to squeeze the left cup of her bra with his little grubby hands.

"That's…my bra…Ash. Thanks for picking it up!" May blushed.

Ash playfully put the left cup of the bra over his face as he tried to look through it. He then placed the bra on top of his hair and held it down with his hands as he walked up to May.

"Can I have my bra, Ash? I kind of…uh…need it," May asked cheerfully.

"Here!" Ash said as he took the bra off his head and held it out to his friend.

May took the bra out of Ash's hands and placed it atop her other clothes in her arms. "You must like the color, don't you?" she giggled.

Ash nodded.

"Well…it's time to do what I told you before. I'm going to put on my clothes now, can you wait outside?" May asked.

Ash quickly walked out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He then ran up to May's bed and climbed up the edge and plopped himself down. He patiently waited for her to come out.

"At least he remembered to shut the door this time. He really seemed to like my bra," May jested as she took off her towel.

The towel dropped to the floor as she took her bra and snapped it across her chest. She looked at herself in the mirror fixing the bra strap and making sure it was on her well-endowed chest. She then slid on her undergarments followed by her blue shorts. She picked up her legs and slid them through her white skirt. She took her red shirt and put her arms through the sleeves. Once it was on, she fixed the collar and pulled the zipper up over her bra. Her mother had always told her to keep her red shirt zippered up to the top, but May liked to leave it opened near her neck instead, as it bothered her being zipped up too high. She then picked up her yellow T-shirt in her hands and exited the bathroom.

"M-ay!" Ash shouted as he saw the young girl exit the bathroom.

"Wow, Ash! I think that's the first time you've said my name!" May giggled as she put her yellow T-shirt inside her fanny pack, "I told you I wouldn't be long. Miss me?" May asked as she winked at the infant.

Ash again blushed heavily once she winked at him. For some reason that got him the most, and May knew it too, as she loved to make him blush and giggle.

May pulled her white gloves over her hands and then tied her yellow fanny pack around her waist. She stretched out her fingers as she bent down and picked up her red bandana. She brought it over her hair and tied the knot at the end around her head.

"May!" Ash said again, clapping his hands.

"Yay! I'm all ready now!" May exclaimed, jumping in the air.

"Tee hee!" Ash laughed, clapping his hands in amusement.

"By the way, what'd you do with Munchlax?" May asked.

"Eh…in…the-re!" Ash pointed toward the Pokeball on the floor.

May rolled her eyes as she picked up Munchlax's Pokeball, "Gee Munchlax, what a great babysitter you turned out to be," she said sarcastically as she put the Pokeball in her fanny pack.

The girl walked back over to Ash and picked him up. May playfully snuggled her nose against Ash's in which the boy laughed hysterically. "You like that, huh?" she asked sweetly as she rubbed her nose against his one more time.

"Ahahaaaa!" Ash laughed.

"Again?" May asked playfully.

"Yea! No-ses aga-in!" Ash giggled.

"OK, here I come again! Snuggle noses!" May chuckled as the two snuggled noses once more.

Ash continued to laugh hysterically as he scratched his nose, "Hahahaochoo!"

"Heh. Alright, it's time to find that brother of mine. Knowing him he's probably goofing off somewhere. It's not easy being an older sister you know," May said.

May opened the door of the guest room and walked out into the hallway. "The machines are _still_ off? I thought the Professor would probably put Brock and Max to work by now. Pikachu isn't here either…I wonder where they are."

Ash peered over the railing trying to look for the others as well.

May held the infant in her arms as she continued walking down the hallway, curiously looking for everyone. "Hmm, they're not in the eating area," she said.

"Look!" Ash suddenly pointed to the floor ahead of them.

"Huh?" May said as she noticed a pair of glasses on the ground.

She bent down and picked up the small black glasses from the floor. "These look like my brother's glasses…but they're so small that it looks like a toy."

Ash watched curiously as May began to look at the tiny glasses from all sides. "Eh, might as well hold onto these, maybe the Professor knows what they are," she said as she continued walking toward the stairway.

As she was walking down to the main level of the lab she heard a loud thump. "What was that?" she asked as she started walking hastily toward the sound.

"Ugh…goddamnit!" The Professor whined as his chair tipped over and he fell face first onto the floor.

He tried lifting his face up from the floor and turning to infant Max. "Why don't you make yourself useful and go wake up that cute sister of yours? I gotta get someone to untie these knots!" the Professor groaned.

Max took his thumb out of his mouth. The Professor glanced at the infant as it looked like Max was finally going to say something. To the Professor's dismay, Max only took his left thumb out so he could put his right thumb in his mouth instead and suck on that. The Professor sweat dropped in disbelief as infant Max sat there sucking his other thumb.

"There are more important things in life than sucking thumbs, boy," the Professor said as his voice began to rise, "Now WHERE is that good-for-nothin' sister of yours!?!"

"What?! I'm right here! Wait…a minute…good for nothin'?" May's voice could be heard as she ran over to the open doorway.

The Professor lifted his face up and saw May as she approached the doorway. "Hey, how's it going? Little help maybe?" he asked.

"Prof. Lenient!" May gasped, "Why are you tied to a chair like that? And why are you knocked over on the floor? And….oh…my…god…"

May caught notice of a familiar looking infant sitting on the floor sucking his thumb. She quickly made the connection with the small pair of glasses she held in her hand.

"MAX?!" she shouted nervously.

Max smiled upon seeing his older sister.

"What…what happened? Why was Max turned into a baby!?" May asked nervously as she placed Ash on the floor and quickly kneeled down next to her brother.

Ash didn't know who this new infant was, but he got a little worried that May was suddenly paying more attention to him than himself.

"Ugh…those three screwballs broke into my lab…stole my ray gun…and zapped your brother…" the Professor gasped, while still laying on the floor tied to the chair.

May put her hands over her brothers' face and began nervously touching his body to make sure he was alright.

"Team Rocket? They did this to you, Max?" May asked angrily.

Max nodded as he took out his right thumb and put his left thumb back in his mouth. May picked her brother up from the floor and placed his little glasses back over his eyes. Ash watched, wondering why May was so preoccupied with this new infant.

"Max…you're going to be alright…Team Rocket…how could they?" May angrily wiped a tear from her eye. "They…stole the ray gun too?"

"Yes," the Professor said.

Max sucked on his thumb contently while smiling at his older sister. He recognized her instantly and was quite happy to see her. May hugged her baby brother tightly, but this was a different hug from the ones she gave Ash. Seeing her little brother turned into an infant had a completely different impact on her than when she saw Ash as an infant. For one thing, she knew that Ash was turned into an infant because of her. But for Max, it was a completely different story.

May sat down on a blue chair in the room, holding the infant in her arms. Her eyes were twitching while staring at her little brother. Seeing her brother like this made her feel defeated and discouraged. The brother she promised her parents that she would always protect and look after was attacked by Team Rocket.

"I'm…sorry that I wasn't there to help you M-ax," May sniffed as a single tear fell down her face.

Max took his thumb out of his mouth as his eyes fixated on the single tear sliding off May's cheek. He tried cheering her up by holding her around but it was of no use.

The Professor tried nudging himself along the floor as the sounds of the chair scraping the floor echoed the room. "Ugh, the waterworks are fine but can you at least sit me back up?" The Professor asked impatiently.

May bit her lip in a convulsed manner. She took her arm and wiped it across her eyes as she walked over to the Professor and picked his chair back up so he no longer lay on the floor.

"Thanks…" The Professor replied. He wanted to say more but knew the girl was breaking down emotionally and feeling hopeless.

"I'm so stupid!" May whined in a teary voice, "I-I should have got up earlier….I could have prevented this from happe-ning to my brother. I'm supposed to be there for him always and make sure nothing bad happens to him…but I…failed miserably! I…I…I'm pathetic!"

The Professor frowned as May continued to cry clutching Max tightly against her body.

Ash crawled over to May and started tugging on her skirt. May looked down at the boy but this time there was nothing he could do to reassure her.

"There's…still a way to help your brother…and your friend," The Professor said softly.

May sniffed and looked at the Professor, "But…how? Team Rocket stole the ray gun! They could be stuck like this forever."

"Not quite," The Professor responded. He tried to move his hands and legs but they were still tightly tied down to the chair. "If you calm down, we can formulate a plan to help them."

"H-how?" May asked.

"First go find your older friend…I think I heard him collapse somewhere outside. Pikachu was with him," The Professor motioned with his face toward the door.

"Brock and Pikachu?" May asked as she got up from the chair.

She quickly ran out of the room while still holding Max in her arms. She darted for the entrance of the lab without even bothering to acknowledge Ash. Ash watched May as she ran out of the room and was a bit shaken by the fact that she left without him. The young infant started to crawl out of the room and follow her.

"Ugh," The Professor muttered to himself, "If someone would untie me already I could help them…sheesh."

May exited the lab and frantically looked around the grassy plains to spot Brock or Pikachu. She then quickly noticed a huge hole in the ground a few feet in front of the lab. She ran up to it and cautiously peeked over the edge while holding her infant brother tightly in her arms.

Brock and Pikachu spotted May staring down at them.

"Hey, May! I was wondering when you'd wake up!" Brock said cheerfully.

"Pikachu pika!" Pikachu added.

"…you guys fell for one of Team Rocket's traps?" May gasped as she tried to catch her breath.

Brock quickly noticed that May had been crying, she looked completely flustered as she was clenching her teeth while her face was still wet from her tears.

Brock lowered his voice a bit, "I see you found out about your brother."

May nodded, "The Professor said that we can still help him though…Ash too…but he's tied to a chair right now so I came to look for you."

"Yeah, I gave chase to Team Rocket but unfortunately ended up where I am now. Sorry that I couldn't catch them," Brock sighed.

May slowly began to regain her composure once again after seeing Brock in the same predicament as she was. She then noticed Ash crawling out of the lab to find her.

"Ash…I'm over here!" May waved to the little infant.

Ash smiled and quickly crawled over to her. He then grabbed onto her leg to try and balance himself up to stand again. He cautiously looked up at the girl.

"Don't worry, Ash, I'm going to make things right again," she said confidently.

May shifted her brother to her left arm as she took out a Pokeball from her fanny pack.

"I choose you, Combusken!" she declared as she let her Pokemon out.

Combusken, a Pokemon that resembled an orange chicken with strong burly legs appeared beside May, awaiting orders from its trainer. She quickly placed Max down next to Ash as she looked down at the pitfall.

"That's dug pretty deep, but I'm sure we can get them out of there, Combusken," May said as she wiped her face.

"Combusken!" Combusken nodded.

May glanced at Ash and Max sitting next to each other. _I've gotta be strong, for them,_ she said to herself.

The Pokemon jumped down the pit and landed in front of Brock and Pikachu.

"Brock, Pikachu, cover your eyes!" May instructed, "Combusken is going to punch away the soil and make it slant upward so you can climb out.

"Good idea," Brock said, "If Combusken is able to make a hill for us by pounding away the dirt, we can simply walk out of here."

Brock and Pikachu shielded their eyes as Combusken stood in front of the dug up soil.

"Alright, Combusken, work your magic!" May said, regaining some of her optimism.

"Combuuuuusken!" the Pokemnon shouted as it started using its fists to quickly make a slope slanting upward so Brock and Pikachu could climb out.

The dirt was pounded away fiercely and quickly as Brock and Pikachu felt the excess dirt being flung around them.

"Oooooh," an impressed Ash said as he watched the fighting Pokemon at work.

Max on the other hand wasn't as interested, as he found sucking his thumb and staring into space to be far more enjoyable.

"Now Combusken, use Sky Uppercut!" May commanded.

"Busken!" Combusken screamed as it pulled back it's arm and punched a huge clot of dirt up in the air.

After a few more moments of pounding and removing the soil, Combusken succeeded in forming a hill out of the soil that slanted upward.

"Combusken!" the Pokemon proudly put its hands on its hips after a job well done.

"You did it!" Brock said, "Now we can just walk up the hill."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said as it ran up the sloped hill of dirt.

Combusken walked out of the pitfall and next to its trainer. Ash stared at the Pokemon in awe. "Yaaaaaaaay!" Ash shouted, admiring May's Combusken.

"You did an awesome job, Combusken, I know I can always count on you." May said as she hugged her Pokemon briefly.

"Combusk!" Combusken nodded.

"Thanks, May! The Professor is still in the lab right?" Brock asked as he walked out of the pitfall.

"Yeah, I left him in there still tied to his chair," May snickered as she recalled Combusken back into its Pokeball.

"I hope the Professor can help us get out of this mess," Brock said.

"I'm sure he will. There's no way I'm letting Team Rocket get away with this," May walked over to her little brother and picked him up. "Don't worry Max, I'm confident that we'll be able to help you now."

Max smiled at his sister. Ash stood there watching, not sure what to do.

"Oh don't worry, Ash, I didn't forget about you either," May winked at her friend, "Hold my hand, we'll walk back to the lab together."

"Oh!" Ash said as he stood up slowly and held May's right hand.

"Nice to see you have everything under control," Brock complimented.

May walked slowly back toward the lab while holding Max in her arms and holding Ash's left hand. She knew not to walk too fast or else Ash's little legs wouldn't be able to keep up with her. Brock and Pikachu followed as they all headed back to the small room where the Professor was still sitting.

"Watch you step now, Ash." May said as they approached the step in front of the entrance of the lab.

Ash raised his leg really high and took a big step so he wouldn't trip. Pikachu complimented its trainer, running along ahead of them.

"Gggh," The Professor grunted, wobbling himself in his chair.

May and the others approached the small room that the Professor was in as he watched them entering the doorway.

"So…is anyone going to give the poor old man a break and cut him loose? I think I'm starting to get a rash from these ropes tied against my skin, who knows where these have been!" The Professor said.

May shifted Max into Brock's arms and took out her Pokeball. Ash held her hand tightly, waiting to see what she was going to do.

"Combuksen, I need you one more time," May declared as the fighting Pokemon leaped right out of its Pokeball.

Combusken readied its claws, approaching the Professor. Its eyes beamed, ready to attack.

"Hey let's not get too hasty here!" The Professor said nervously, "This thing looks like its ready to tear me to shreds!"

"Oh c'mon, Combusken is just going to cut you loose. I'd try not to squirm though, if Combusken misses its mark its claws may slash your skin," May said provokingly.

"Wouldn't just getting a knife be much safer?! This thing looks homicidal!" The Professor exclaimed.

May rolled her eyes, "Combusken use Slash attack! Cut through the ropes bounding the Professor to the chair!"

"Ha!" Ash's eyes wobbled as he was very excited to see Combusken in action again.

"Combuuuuuuu----skkeen!" Combusken leaped toward the Professor readying its claws.

"OH god! I'm TOO OLD FOR THIS!" The Professor closed his eyes in fear as he saw the Pokemon jump at him.

As fast as the blink of an eye, Combusken had slashed through the ropes tying the Professor's body and legs to the chair. The Professor shivered, keeping his eyes tightly closed.

"Uh…you could open your eyes now," Brock said.

The Professor opened one eye and looked cautiously at Combusken, "You mean I'm still alive…really?" he gasped.

"Yep! As far as I can tell you're alright, Mr. Lenient!" May teased as she recalled her Pokemon into her Pokeball.

"Phew," The Professor wiped his forehead. He got up from the chair and set it aside, "Something tells me you wanted to see me cower on purpose."

May giggled as she lifted Ash back up into her arms. "My Combusken was awesome wasn't it?" she asked Ash.

"Aw-sum!" Ash said, clucking his tongue.

"I hate to think about how much time we wasted," Brock said as Max continued sucking his thumb in his arms, "Team Rocket could have gotten far away by now…I'm not sure if we'll be able to track them."

"Hmmm, there's a port at the beach at the end of the forest. Those three ran in that direction didn't they?" the Professor asked.

"Yeah. You're right too, we came through the forest from a port. We had to catch a ferry to get on this side of the mainland," Brock said.

"Then that means that Team Rocket won't be able to get very far without catching a boat!" May exclaimed.

"Those ferries aren't scheduled to leave until 8.p.m., so they're still stuck on the mainland in the meantime….unless they have their balloon," Brock sighed.

"…but Ash popped the balloon with his Swellow, remember? I doubt they were able to fix it so fast," May said, "See, Ash, you _are_ a little genius!"

May tickled Ash's stomach playfully which got the infant to giggle once again.

"Let's hope so, in any case we better think of a plan fast. We need that ray gun," Brock said.

"Well, why don't we change Ash back to normal then? That kid had some spark in him, I'm sure he would be able to help you with your search. I was able to complete another batch of my #69 formula overnight, in fact I was going to tell you in the morning before Team Rocket broke in," The Professor said.

May and Brock were quite surprised that the Professor made another batch of his formula overnight. Perhaps he did care for them more than they thought.

"But without your invention the formula is useless isn't it? I mean, how can we change Ash back to normal if we don't have the ray gun?" Brock asked.

"We inject it into the patient," The Professor responded, leaning against his desk, "There is an alternative to using the ray gun to reverse the process with the formula. I can inject the formula into the boy's blood steam instead, and as the serum spreads throughout his body, it will reverse the effects of the ray gun and return him to his original state."

"How…are you going to inject it into him?" May asked, cautiously.

"Why…with a needle of course!" The Professor slapped his forehead, "What other way is there?"

"This is fantastic news," Brock said, "I should have figured that this formula is also an antidote. But…will this way make his clothes grow back to normal too?"

"Good question," the Professor said, scratching his chin. "I've never tested it before but if I mix some of the formula on the fabric of his clothes, it should return back to it's original size as well. All the ray gun did was disperse the energy at the subject in the form of air waves, and using the opposing formula to reverse the process by applying it to his clothes directly should have the same affect."

May turned to Ash in her arms. "Well, Ash, you're going to be old again," she said, softly.

Ash was a bit confused as he didn't fully understanding what May meant.

May then glanced over at her brother in Brock's arms, "Max…" she said reluctantly.

"Would you rather we turn your brother back to normal first May?" Brock asked, "We'd have to wait another whole day for the Professor to make another batch of formula to turn him back."

"We use it on, Ash," The Professor declared, "I need him to help get my invention and my Tyranitar back from those thieves. I'm sorry, but the girl will have to wait a bit longer for her brother."

May looked at the two infants with uncertainty.

"Professor, will all due respect," Brock said hastily, "I think May should be the one making the choice. It's her own brother and her best friend, you saw her crying after she found out that her brother was turned into an infant, didn't you?"

"Sure, I'm just saying that the older boy will be better for the search. You said yourself that Team Rocket can leave by ferry by nightfall. Ash would seem to be the better choice than the kid, I can't let Team Rocket make off with my invention! Besides, the boy told me he didn't have any Pokemon either. Without any Pokemon to battle those thieves, he's not exactly the best choice at the moment," The Professor said.

"Stop making this harder on May than it should be," Brock said angrily, "If May chooses her brother than _he's_ the one we're turning back to normal first."

"Listen, bucko, it's my formula that I toiled to create in a single night. I'm helping your friends either way, her brother can stay as an infant for another day. The girl can deal with it, it's not going to kill her," The Professor said, agitated.

"Well I don't think…." Brock argued.

"Pika pikachu Pika!" Pikachu bellowed.

"Will you please stop wasting time with this argument?! We have to catch those crooks!" The Professor yelled.

"GUYS!" May shouted.

The Professor, Brock and Pikachu stopped bickering and looked at May quickly.

"It's OK…" she said quietly, "We should turn Ash back first…we need him and his Pokemon to help us. We…can turn my brother back tomorrow."

"Are you sure about this, May?" Brock asked.

May's eyes twitched, staring at the two infants. "I'm…I'm sure," she said.

"Choosing between your brother and your best friend isn't easy…" Brock said.

"Then it's decided. Let me fill the needle with the formula, and we can begin," The Professor said, opening his drawers.

"May," Brock said.

"Yeah?"

"I think you should go get Ash's hat and sweatshirt too. If he isn't wearing them when the Professor applies the formula, they'll stay small."

"Oh!" May suddenly remembered.

"What now?" The Professor asked while holding his #69 formula in a test tube.

"I forgot, Ash is still wearing his diaper!" May exclaimed, "We have to put his boxers back on too, don't we?"

"Wow I almost forgot about that. You're right but his boxers are in the hamper because he peed on them, remember?" Brock smiled.

"Professor Lenient! Could you possibly wash Ash's boxers quickly in like the blink of an eye so we can do this fast?" May asked naively.

"I'm a scientist not a magician! You'd have to put his underwear in the washing machine, but that will take too long and we wasted enough time as it is," the Professor said.

"Eh, I guess I'll just have to put them back on him. They should be uh….dry by now right?" May asked.

"I suppose so," Brock responded.

"He didn't pee too much did he? I don't want Ash to be wearing that if it was all over!" May blushed.

"Nah, not too much. It's fine May," Brock bemused.

"Hee hee! Sorry, Ash, but we have no other choice," May giggled at the infant.

"Awwww…" Ash sounded disappointed.

May held Ash in her arms as she started to walk out of the room. She stopped to say goodbye to her little brother by rubbing his jet black hair. Max and Brock smiled contently as May then quickly ran back upstairs to the guest room.

May opened the door of the guest room and placed Ash down on the bed. "We need to put your shoes and socks back on too, Ash!" she said, searching the hamper.

"Ah, here's your underwear," she said, holding Ash's boxers.

She walked back up to Ash and lay him flat on the bed. "I'm going to change you now, k?" May asked.

"OK!" Ash replied.

May took off Ash's sweatpants and set them aside. She then removed the velcro on the diaper and took that off. She briefly glanced at Ash's penis before she pulled his boxers over him.

"Guess we're even now eh, Ash?" May giggled, referring to how Ash saw her naked in the bathroom earlier.

"Hee hee!" Ash laughed.

May quickly pulled Ash's sweatpants back on him. She then went over to the dresser and picked up Ash's hat and his blue sweatshirt.

"You're going to have to put these on again too," she said as she pulled the sweatshirt down over Ash's shoulders.

She placed the hat on his head as she then went to look for his socks and shoes. Ash whined as he was uncomfortable with his hat on again. He tried pulling on his hat to take it off just like he did when he was first turned into an infant. May quickly returned with his socks and shoes.

"No no, leave it on, Ash," May said, placing the hat back down firmly on his head, "We have to make sure you're wearing all your old clothes or else these won't turn back to normal size when we change you back."

Ash grunted in disappointment as May started putting on his socks and shoes. After a few more moments, he was wearing everything that he had on when he was originally zapped by the ray gun.

"Well, we're all set," May said.

Ash pulled on the brim of his hat again before looking back up at May.

May's eyes watered, "You know, even if it wasn't for a very long time…I'm going to miss you as a baby, Ash. You were so adorable."

May picked Ash up from the bed and hugged him tightly in her arms one last time. "I'll never forget playing with you as an infant, Ash. I…"

May hesitated as the two stared at each other passionately. "…I...loved…"

"….taking…care of you as a baby."

"May," Ash said softly, wrapping his arms around his friend.

For some reason, turning Ash back to normal felt like May was saying goodbye to a good friend forever. She wanted her old friend back just as much, but she was a bit sad to say goodbye to infant Ash as well. Even though they were the same person, the two Ash's had completely different yet completely heartwarming impacts on May as well.

"C'mon, Ash, let's go age you by a couple of years," she said. She softly rubbed his face as she walked out of the guest room as yet another solitary tear of happiness fell down her cheek.


	11. Getting a grip on things

**Zero:Hi!**

**AJ: You should REALLY make a chapter so people can imagen me and Mike.**

**Zero: I have to do that later don't I?**

**Aj: Yes you do.**

**Zero: I do it after this chapter!**

**Aj &Mike: YOU better!**

**Zero: OK! I'm just starting the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: ZerocielX doesn't own pokemon.**

**Aj: Thank Disclaimer!**

**Declaimer: Your welcome!**

**Zero:.....**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**"Getting a grip on things"**

 

 

 

The Professor opened the test tube bottle and sniffed the orange formula inside. He then opened one of his cabinets and took out a medium sized needle. Brock watched the Professor as Max was resting on his shoulder.

"Once the girl comes back we'll be ready to proceed," The Professor said.

He opened up the needle and carefully poured the orange liquid inside of it. He took the cover off the point of the needle and closed the back up as he had his fingers on the prongs.

"That needle is sterile right?" Brock asked.

"Of course. As a scientist I would never use contaminated needles, you don't trust me very much do you?" the Professor asked, slyly.

"No, it's not that," Brock replied, lifting Max higher up on his chest, "I want to make sure that nothing bad happens to Ash, he is my friend, you know."

"Yes, yes, I know. Without my invention the needle will be fine, it will be just like taking a shot from the doctor. I'll have to also pour some excess liquid on the fabric of his clothes so they return to their normal size as well," The Professor said.

Pikachu hopped on the blue chair next to where Brock was standing. It looked up at Max who was still contently sucking his thumb. For a brief moment, there was an awkward silence in the room as they waited for May to return with Ash from upstairs.

"How fast will Ash turn back to normal upon receiving the shot? And will his clothes return to normal just as fast?" Brock asked to kill some time.

"Why I'm glad you asked that. It'll happen almost immediately! Just like the ray gun reversed the process within seconds, the formula should do the same. Which is why I have to pour the liquid on his clothes and then quickly give him the shot, or else his clothes will grow faster than he does," the Professor said.

Brock nodded as he started glancing around the room. He noticed a small picture frame in a cabinet behind clear see-through glass. He walked up closer to inspect the picture, which showed the Professor in his younger days standing outside his lab. At first glance, Brock didn't notice anything weird about the picture but before he turned away he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. The date of the photo was imprinted on the side of it. Brock squinted to make sure he read the date correctly.

"Huh?" Brock was astonished. The date of the picture was over 80 years ago!

Brock quickly looked at the Professor who was busy pouring the excess formula back into the test tube.

 _Whoa,_ Brock thought to himself, _The Professor looks around 30-40 years old in that photo. But if that date is correct…then the Professor must be over 100 years old. He'd be nearly 120...but the Professor right now doesn't look any older than 60. Strange._

"Something wrong?" The Professor asked as he noticed Brock stepping away from the cabinet.

"Oh, uh…nothing wrong. I was just looking at my reflection in the glass, I think some of my hair is messed up," Brock said nervously, "After all, I did get up quickly when I heard Max screaming about Team Rocket, I didn't even take a shower yet!"

"Oh, that figures. No wonder you smell," the Professor said, holding his nose.

"Eheh," Brock replied, walking back toward Pikachu on the chair.

"I'm back!" May said as she entered the room, holding Ash in her arms.

"Pika!" Pikachu greeted Ash.

Ash waved to Pikachu gleefully. May walked up to her little brother again and rubbed his hair playfully.

"Ah good! Now let's get started," The Professor said hastily.

"Hey, Professor, where should I put Ash?" May asked.

"Just sit him down at the edge of the table. We tried doing this before with the ray gun but you jumped on the table and knocked your little friend off, remember?" The Professor asked.

"Oh, yeah," May laughed in embarrassment.

"Yeah…not to mention Ash would grow really fast in your arms and you wouldn't be able to hold him," Brock said.

May placed Ash down at the edge of the table. His legs hung off the side as May fixed the brim of his hat once more.

"Ready, Ash?" May asked, "You were quite a handful to take care of, but I'll never forget these days we played together."

Ash grinned as the two held hands while waiting for the Professor. May squeezed Ash's little chubby hands as she got a bit nervous thinking about how Ash will be like when he is a teen again.

"OK, listen up," The Professor instructed. He held the needle behind his back with his right hand while he held the test tube with a small batch of the formula with his right. He held it up so Ash and May could see it. "I'm going to pour the formula out of the test tube onto the infants' clothing. This will make his clothes quickly return to their normal size, in about the span of 10 seconds at the max. Each piece of clothing he's wearing will need just a drop of the formula. The rest of the formula is in the needle, which I will be injecting into the boys' arm."

"Hm, why can't you just pour some of the formula onto Ash's skin then? Wouldn't that return him back to normal just like his clothes?" May asked, still holding Ash's hands for comfort.

"There's a difference, the boy is a living breathing person. The cells in his body will need the formula in his blood steam to reverse the process quickly. Clothes are just well…clothes. They weren't de-aged you know, just shrunk to match the boys' new size. What the ray gun did was envelop the boy and everything he was wearing at the same time, as the boy was de-aging and getting younger, the clothes shrunk accordingly so they would still fit him. I designed the ray gun to do that too, aren't I a genius?" the Professor clucked his tongue.

"I suppose so," Brock interrupted, "But it's odd that you created such a device to de-age people in the first place and never told anyone about it, yet you seem to know exactly how to reverse the process. You're so calm about it too as if you've done this before."

"Yeeeeeeeees, because unlike you youngsters, those of us with a couple years on our shoulders tend to have a good grip on things. No overreacting like these two," the Professor said as he pointed at Ash and May.

May chuckled quietly and watched as the Professor took the needle out from behind his back. The orange formula could be seen through the clear casing of the needle. He walked toward the baby.

"Well, boy, let's give you your shot," The Professor said as he approached the boy with the needle.

Once Ash caught sight of the needle he panicked and grabbed May's arms timidly. Everyone in the room looked at Ash a bit astonished as the Professor held the needle toward him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" a petrified Ash screamed as he jumped into May's arms for protection.

"What's the matter?" The Professor asked.

"Gooooo aw-ay! NOOO!" Ash yelled, burying his face in May's chest.

"Eh?" The Professor grunted.

"I think I get it. Ash is scared of needles!" Brock exclaimed.

"Oh c'mon, boy! One little poke in the arm won't hurt! You'll hardly feel a thing," The Professor said.

Ash gripped onto May's arms tightly as he hid his face in May's chest while yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Hee hee. I don't blame him," May giggled, "I'm scared of needles too!"

The Professor rolled his eyes. Max chuckled as the infant remembered how May acted when their parents took them to the doctor.

"Pikachu pika, pikachu!" Pikachu shouted at the youngster trying to calm him down.

The Professor walked a few steps toward May as the boy glanced at him quickly. He caught another sight of the needle and was as petrified as ever.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ash cried.

"This isn't going to work. I need the boy sitting down so I can quickly pour the formula on his clothes and give him his shot right after," The Professor said.

May quickly sized up the situation as she patted Ash's hair to try to calm him down. "Shhhhhhh," May whispered into his ear, "It'll be alright."

May walked back up to the table and tried to pull Ash's hands off her shirt. The boy gripped onto her as tightly as ever, not willing to comply and receive the shot. May pulled on Ash's hands a bit and due to her strength compared to the infants', she was able to slowly pull his hands off her shirt and gently sit him on the edge of the table.

"No-no! Sto-p!" Ash cried frantically as he tried to get back in May's arms.

"Ash, calm down," May said as she held the boys' cheeks with her two hands. She looked into his face and smiled, "The Professor isn't going to hurt you. He's just going to make you big again…like me."

Ash continued to cry only quietly as he started listening to his friend. Brock stood from afar not wanting to distract Ash and make him cry hysterically again.

"Remember when I was a baby too? I was just like you. We played together, remember?" May said, removing her hands from his face and placing them on his legs, "Remember how you wanted to eat that chocolate chip cookie but I took it away from you and gobbled up the whole thing?"

Ash started to smile, "Eheh, ye-a."

"That's right. That was kind of mean for me to do, huh? All your hard work to pull the cookie off the table and I started fighting with you and made you bump your head. It doesn't hurt anymore does it?" May asked, playfully rubbing his hat.

Ash sniffled a bit and stopped crying.

"We fought a lot together didn't we? I remember nearly choking you when I tried to pull your sweatshirt off your head…heehee! I guess I was selfish enough to eat the cookie all by myself while not sharing with you. When we were both older, I was nice enough to share the strawberry shortcake with you from the frisbee game we played. We had to use the same fork too since that was the only one we had," May chuckled.

"Oooh," Ash said, licking his lips and remembering the taste of the cake.

"Yeah, that was from winning the game when you threw the frisbee through the Professor's window which made me score the final point," May said softly.

"Yeah, and I haven't forgotten about that window, you know!" The Professor shouted from the background, "After this fiasco is over, you kids still have six more days of work to do for me to pay off your debt!"

"So, Ash, do you want to be old like me again? I promise we'll still play together," May smiled at the infant.

"Ye-s," Ash said reluctantly, "Be li-ke M-ay!" Ash pointed toward the girl.

"Ash, you're so sweet!" May laughed as she hugged the infant one last time.

Pikachu's eyes watered as it watched May successfully calm Ash down.

"You're going to be all-grown up Ash again," May said, lifting herself back up, "You're going to be big and strong, you'll be able to battle with Pokemon again, and you're going to be very cute and handsome again…" May stuttered nervously, as she stood up after she realized what she just said in front of everyone.

"Uh…that was…sweet, May," Brock said, scratching his face knowingly.

May blushed heavily, "I…I was just saying that as a figure of speech you, know."

Max laughed and pointed at May for the first time since he was a baby.

"Gee, Max, even as a baby you like to pick on me," May said nervously, waving her arms, "I meant to say that Ash was going to be an older boy again…it's not like I'm saying that Ash is attractive…well I mean I'm saying that he will be good-looking again…but not…you know, good-looking where _I_ think he's good looking, just being uh…nice looking where _other_ people think he's nice looking…"

"OK, we get it, May," Brock laughed.

May blushed even more as she crossed her arms and approached her little brother, "So what are _you_ laughing at anyway, Max?"

"Haha!" Max laughed as he put his right thumb back in his mouth.

Ash sat there on the edge of the table, confused. The little boy didn't quite know what was going on.

"Oh for the love of – ALRIGHT, enough stalling already!" The Professor shouted, "I'm going to quickly pour some of the formula on his clothes."

May walked back toward Ash and stood next to him at the edge of the table as her blush started to fade.

The Professor opened the test tube bottle. He quickly poured a drop of the formula on each of the apparel that Ash was wearing. He poured a droplet of the formula on his hat, sweatshirt, his black shirt underneath, his sweatpants, boxers, gloves, socks, and on his shoes. He quickly placed the test tube on the side of the table as he knew the clothes would start growing within a few seconds.

"Now I have to inject him in his arm quickly," The Professor said, bringing the needle toward Ash.

Even though Ash was calmed down, the sight of the needle so close to him scared him again. The Professor was about to poke his arm until the boy jumped.

"NOOOO!" Ash screamed, jumping right back into May's arms.

"Ash….no!" May shouted.

The Professor quickly saw Ash's clothing beginning to grow. Ash frantically kicked back and forth in May's arms.

"His clothes are already expanding! I have to inject him NOW!" The Professor shouted.

"ASH!" May said, trying to turn him to the Professor.

"You'll have to hold him while I inject the needle, we have no other choice!" the Professor instructed quickly.

May quickly turned Ash toward the Professor. She pulled out Ash's left arm nervously and stretched it out enough so the Professor could inject him. Ash screamed and raved but May held his arm out as straight as she could. She noticed the boy's shirt and pants suddenly looking incredibly baggy on him. His clothes were growing rapidly and he wasn't even injected yet!

The Professor held Ash's left arm steady so he could inject the needle. He held the needle with his right hand as he lowered it to his skin. Ash continued screaming, but May and the Professor managed to get his arm still.

"Hurry up!" Brock warned.

His shirt was already beginning to expand which started to cover his arm. The Professor quickly inserted the needle into Ash's skin.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" Ash screamed as his eyes bulged.

"THERE! I did it! He should be growing within a few seconds!" The Professor said as he backed up from May.

"Wuh?!" Ash said as he turned back to May's arms.

"Hey, Ash…you're starting to feel...REALLY HEAVY!" May gasped as the boy was quickly growing in her arms.

May started wobbling backward as she was still holding onto Ash. The boy was growing and quickly returning to his original height and weight.

"GAH!" May shouted as the weight of Ash toppled her over.

May fell behind the table as Ash fell on top of her. The Professor and Brock couldn't see what happened as the ends of the table blocked their view.

Within a few moments more, Ash returned to his original age. His clothing had also returned to their original size.

May was on the ground with her back flat against the floor. A now teenage Ash lay directly on top of her. Ash and May's bodies laid perfectly symmetrical with one another, as they were both nearly the same height.

Ash's eyes were closed as his face rested on top of May's face, as their chests, torsos, crotches, and legs also laid symmetrical on top of one another. May tried to open her eyes as she felt the weight of Ash resting on top of her body. She felt her chest pressed hard up against his, their legs intertwined, as well as the heat from his face emancipating on her own. The girl was a bit flustered as Ash was in full body contact with her.

"A-sh?" May asked softly.

Ash started to open his eyes as he felt their cheeks laying on top of each other as well as their bodies pressed up against one another.

"Ugh….MAY!" Ash said astoundingly as he quickly lifted himself off her body.

May was bewildered as she lay on the floor looking up at Ash who was towering over her. She quickly snapped out of her gaze as she lifted up her body to stand.

"It worked!" The Professor declared happily.

"Hey, Ash, how's it feel to be your age again?" Brock asked jovially.

Pikachu greeted it's trainer happily as it jumped right into his arms. Ash was a bit absent minded as Pikachu licked his face. He quickly realized what had happened and hugged Pikachu tightly.

"Hey there, little buddy!" Ash said as he squeezed Pikachu in his arms.

May watched as Ash hugged Pikachu as if the boy were someone she never saw before. The girl had mixed emotions flying through her mind while watching him. She had been so used to caring for Ash as an infant and mothering him, that seeing him back at his normal age and as her friend again was quite a shock. She knew she had to completely change her demeanor toward him, as he was no longer a little baby who wanted her to carry him. He was now a well-built, dark haired and attractive looking teenage boy, and she found herself having difficulty changing her attitude toward him so quickly. She wanted to ask him something but couldn't form the words, as she backed up again bringing her hand toward her mouth with some uncertainty.

Ash quickly remembered everything he did as a baby. He tried to hide his initial shock, but he looked over at May's direction as he tried to comprehend the different feelings he had toward her as an infant. He quickly discovered that as an infant he was almost completely infatuated with her, and just as she had difficulty reacting to Ash being a teen again, Ash had difficulty seeing May in the same light as he had before. Ash's arms began to tremble as he was quite embarrassed and unsure how to interact with her now. He remembered the feelings of love, trust, and bonding he and May shared when they slept together, when May fed and took care of him, and how he wanted nothing more than to be with her. The quick flashes of memory of resting against her chest, sleeping next to her, as well as seeing her naked gave him quite a complex barrage of emotions in his head.

May and Ash nervously felt the same way about each other now that he was his normal age again. She realized that Ash remembered how she cared for him. Meanwhile Ash realized that May remembered how much joy he gave her as an infant, and how much of a bond they shared.

Ash and May nervously made eye-contact while standing a few feet apart. The two quickly glanced away as slight blushes appeared on their faces. Neither of them had the courage to say something as simple as a gesture to one another, as they couldn't quite absorb how different they acted toward each other when he was an infant.

Ash bit his lip as he remembered walking in on May as she came out of the shower. The image of May standing right in front of him in the bathroom as water dripped off her voluptuous body was still fresh in his mind. This was even more embarrassing for Ash to grasp then the previous instances of May taking care of him. He slowly and clumsily walked toward the blue chair at the other end of the table and let Pikachu jump out of his arms.

"Ergggggh," Ash groaned as he was perplexed in a train of thought while staring at the floor.

"Ha ha! The experiment was a complete success! I knew the procedure would still work without my ray gun, I really must give myself a pat on my back for this," The Professor kicked his heels as he discarded the needle and put the test tube back in a cabinet.

May didn't budge from the other end of the table. She held her own two hands in front of herself nervously as she was too timid to acknowledge anyone or even move. The girls' thoughts were fixated on Ash, as she knew that he was remembering everything they did together. She also was completely flustered as to how to talk with Ash again, as the feelings toward him as an infant were still lingering in her mind. But this Ash was no longer an infant, and for May to quickly remember the "other" Ash that was her mentor, and best friend, was quite a shock to get used to again.

"Hey, Ash, you feel alright, right? We had a pretty fun time taking care of you as a baby," Brock bemused.

"Uh…" Ash nervously looked up at Brock as he lost his train of thought, "…yeah…I feel alright. I…."

"C'mon, boy!" The Professor shouted happily is as he slapped Ash's back, "Now that you're able-bodied again I'm sure you remember that Team Rocket made off with my ray gun and my Tyranitar!"

"Oh yeah!" Ash said as he quickly regained his composure, "Professor….thanks. I almost forgot about Team Rocket…I was thinking about something else."

"Something else?" the Professor snorted. "What else is there to think about? Now I know you were an infant for a good day and a half, and I suppose you do have some getting used to as a young man again. No more crawling on your knees and wearing diapers and making me wish I never met the lot of you….but it's time to get your head on your shoulders because I need your help to find that Team Rocket bunch!"

"Yeah…and…!" Ash tried to say before trailing off into thought. The embarrassment of seeing May nude quickly struck Ash like lightning. It wasn't the fact that he saw a naked female body for the first time that got him, but the fact that he was embarrassed that he saw May, his best friend like that, and was a bit too shaken up on how to talk to her again.

May nervously lifted her head up in Ash's direction. She took a deep breath before she gasped and uttered a sound in a shaky voice, "A-sh!"

Ash's eyes bulged as he looked over in May's direction. His throat was dry, and he hesitated for a few seconds before answering. "Y-ea?" he asked in a high pitched voice.

May was taken back that Ash responded so quickly. This was the first time they spoke with one another after the procedure, and even though it was just one word a piece, the interaction hit them like a ton of bricks.

A sweat drop dripped off her face as she licked her lips. "N-ice to…" May coughed to hide her embarrassment, "Nice to ha-ve you back."

"Uh…tha-nks," Ash responded, scratching his face.

Brock noticed that the two were behaving strangely around each other. He figured the two would be a bit nervous due to all the mothering May gave him, but he didn't expect it to this extent.

"Ash," Brock said to get his attention, "We have to find Team Rocket quickly. We spent a lot of time here, and they could have gotten far away by now. We gotta make sure they don't get off the mainland by ferry. Are you going to be well enough to help us?"

"That's right. We wasted a HELL of a lot of time already. Hurry up boy!" The Professor slapped Ash on the back again in order to encourage him.

"OK…just stop hitting me already!" Ash said impulsively, "I…I need to get my Pokemon though. They're upstairs."

The Professor nodded as Ash walked out of the room. Pikachu shouted, "Pika, chu, pika!" and followed its trainer out of the room.

May let out a deep breath once Ash left the room. "Phew," she gasped.

She then clumsily walked over to the blue chair that Ash was sitting on and slouched when she sat down. Max watched his sister from Brock's arms as the girls' face looked troubled.

Ash walked up the stairs and opened the guest room door. He looked around the room and saw his backpack on the floor. He unzipped the bag and took out five Pokeballs which contained his Pokemon. He put three in his left pants pocket and two in his right. Ash then sat down on the edge of the bed and rested his face on his hands.

"Pikachu pika?" Pikachu asked as it hopped on the bed next to Ash.

"Oh jeez…how can I ever bring myself to face her again?" Ash asked Pikachu in a worried voice, "Everything she's done for me as a baby…it seems so awkward now that I'm my own age again."

Ash looked up at the bathroom door as the image of May's figure flashed across his face. "Oh man," Ash said as he hid his hands in his face.

Ash was quite nervous about how to approach May now that he saw her completely naked. He had already known about the feminine figure before, and while seeing nude female anatomy for the first time was shocking, it wasn't exactly a complete revelation to him. He had seen girls in bikinis at the beach many times during his adventure, and having grown up with his mother until he was 10 and left on his journey, he was quite aware of what the female body looked like.

Ash quickly thought about the times that he saw May in swimsuits back on Dewford Island. He remembered admiring May's figure as her various bikini's were nicely fit and showed off some cleavage, but it was a completely different scenario with actually seeing May's body parts in the flesh without something covering them up.

It wasn't the nude female body that got him, but it was **May's** nude female body that got him. The girl he had taken under his wing to train since he arrived at Hoenn, as well as the girl he trusted, admired, bonded, and cared for had a big impact on his guilt that he saw her naked.

Ash stood up from the bed as Pikachu jumped on his shoulder. He took a deep breath as he fixed the brim of his hat once more.

"Well, Pikachu, I'm going to just have to make the best of it," Ash said, "I hope May and I can put that moment aside and be good friends again just like we were before."

Pikachu was confused as he didn't know what Ash meant, having not been there when Ash walked in on her.

"Heh, I really remember everything she did for me. We slept in each other's arms, and I still feel the same affection toward her now as I did when I was a baby at that moment. It's going to be a bit hard to adapt now after all that's happened, especially since I became so close to her," Ash grinned, "But no matter what, she's still my best friend. And we gotta find Team Rocket, right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu responded happily.

May walked out of the small room and back into the main area of the lab. She raised her fanny pack a bit higher on her waist. She walked down the aisles aimlessly with her arms crossed.

She still felt the same attachment toward Ash now as she did when he was a baby, but she also felt the strong bonds and admiration toward him as a teen. May walked down the aisles as she looked at her reflection from one of the machines.

She came to a realization. Ash wasn't just her best friend.

Ash was her hero.

May's face broadened as she fixed her hair and walked back to the front of the lab. Brock continued to hold Max in his arms while the Professor shut the door of the small room. They then quickly noticed Ash and Pikachu running down the stairs.

May watched passionately as Ash approached them. She was still a bit nervous about interacting with him, but she was calmer than she was before.

"I sure hope we're able to find Team Rocket, I really can't believe those guys sometimes. No matter how many times we defeat them, they keep coming back for more. They should have realized by now what they're doing is wrong," Ash sighed.

"Some people will never learn," Brock said.

"I decided to turn you back to normal first for a reason, I think you'll be a good asset in finding those crooks," The Professor said.

"I'll do the best I can!" Ash said in a bold voice.

"You're not taking your backpack, Ash?" Brock asked.

"No, it'll only slow me down. I have my Pokeballs in my pocket. That's all I need," Ash said assuredly.

May stood silently watching the conversation from afar. She smiled contently thinking how mature Ash was to leap into danger to help so quickly after being turned back to normal.

Ash turned to Brock, "Are you coming?"

"I – can't," Brock said, "I have to look after Max. I don't think bringing a baby with me would be such a good idea either, especially if it gets dangerous. I don't think May would approve of getting her little brother in danger either…right, May?"

"Wha?" May said as she snapped out of her train of thought, "Oh yeah, you're right Brock. I'm upset enough as it is that Team Rocket turned my brother into a baby, I wouldn't dare let him get into any more harm."

May walked up to Brock as she rubbed Max's back. Max cheerfully grunted upon receiving his sisters' comfort.

"What about you, Professor?" Ash asked.

"Are you kidding me, boy? I just told you I turned you back for a reason. You expect me to go running in the fields out there looking under every nook and cranny?" The Professor snapped.

"But it's your ray gun and Tyranitar!" Ash retorted, "Don't you want to make sure we get them back safe and sound?"

"Yes, yes, I'm absolutely ecstatic about that! But I need to make sure that those three don't come back to my lab either. One thing I learned in my lifetime, is that crooks always come back to the scene of the crime once they succeed. Besides, I'm not so sure Mr. Babysitter here will do such a great job defending the place, " The Professor responded.

"Hey! I can help out with my Foretress to defend the lab," Brock defended himself brashly.

Ash walked toward the door of the lab as Pikachu stood next to Brock. May approached him.

"You're not going alone, are you?" May stammered.

"Hmmm, noooo…." Ash said as he turned to May and grabbed her shoulder, "You're coming with me."

"I-am?" she asked a bit surprised as Ash pulled her beside him next to the doorway. Ash let go of her arm as she stared at him a few feet apart.

"I mean of course I'll be more than willing to go, I gotta make sure Team Rocket knows not to mess with my family," she finished.

"Good, because I'll need the help," Ash said as he winked at May, "We'll find them just like we always do."

May's eyebrows raised as she saw him wink at her. She quickly understood this was in response to all the winking she gave him as an infant that made him blush.

"Heh, right, Ash," May responded cunningly, "I know my brother is counting on me. Heh, I'm sure he'd rather be turned back to normal by the ray gun than receiving a needle. My brother never liked needles either."

"Pika pika?" Pikachu asked.

Ash turned to his Pokemon. He looked briefly at Brock, Max and the Professor and realized they needed help.

"Sorry, buddy, but I need you to stay here," Ash said as he kneeled down and patted Pikachu's head.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked disappointingly.

"The Professor is right, Team Rocket could come back to the lab," Ash stood up and looked at Brock, "And Brock only has one Pokemon with him, not to mention he has to take care of Max. I need you to help defend the lab in case Team Rocket shows up."

"Chu…" Pikachu frowned.

"I'm counting on you, Pikachu. I know you're the best, you'll do a great job defending the place," Ash said.

"Pikachu, pikachu pika," Pikachu understood it's trainer and ran back toward Brock and Max.

May grinned, "And I'm sure that even if Professor Lenient won't admit it, he'd like a bodyguard!"

"Wuh?" The Professor responded in a overpowering voice, "If those three lunatics show up here again I'll give 'em a good ol' knuckle sandwich."

The Professor started clenching his fists and threw punches in the air.

"I'll show 'em all what's for, a few socks to the head and a couple of black eyes will teach them never to mess with me again!" The Professor exclaimed as he threw an uppercut in the air.

Ash and May smiled as the Professor got so into his punching that he accidentally started bumping into Brock.

"Hey, watch where you're going here!" Brock exclaimed as he stepped away quickly, making sure he didn't lose his grip on Max, "I was standing right next to you, you know!"

"Oh, sorry about that," The Professor grinned, putting his hand behind his head, "I get a little carried away sometimes. Heck, did I mention I used to be a boxer back in the day?"

"Uh…I hope this is not going to be a long story," Brock sighed.

"Uh yeah, we better get going," Ash said as he turned to the door.

"Yeah, I'll be back soon Max!" May said as she blew a kiss with her hand toward her little brother.

Max took his thumb out from his mouth and waved goodbye to his sister happily.

"Get going then!" The Professor said, "You only have a few hours before that ferry leaves. There's a good chance they'll try to leave the mainland on that."

The Professor turned to Brock, "Now then, would you like me to tell you about the time I won the heavyweight boxing championship?"

Brock sighed as he shook his head, "Ugh…I know I'm going to regret this, but let me hear your story."

"Pikachu Pika!" Pikachu waved.

"See ya, Pikachu, make sure you help Brock out with Max!" Ash said. He then turned to May, "Let's go, May."

"Right," May said cheerfully.

Ash and May walked out of the lab side by side to search for Team Rocket. The two still had lingering feelings of embarrassment over their time together as infants, but they were more than ready to take care of the situation at hand. Ash grinned as May eagerly walked beside him ready to find Team Rocket and retrieve the Professor's ray gun and his Tyranitar.


	12. In between a Tyranitar and a hot place!

**Zero: Hi!**

**Aj &Mike: JUST GET ON WITH IT!**

**Zero: what with you two?** **  
** **Aj &Mike: YOU WOKE US AT 7 IN THE MORING FOR THIS?!**

**Zero: Yup!**

**Disclaimer: YOU woke me up too!**

**Zero: OK I did! but let get on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: ZerocielX doesn't own pokemon.**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**"** **In between a Tyranitar and a hot place"**

 

 

Ash and May walked quickly through the grassy plains heading toward the forest that they originally came to the lab from. They walked along the sea of grass as the shrubs and trees started getting more abundant. The two stepped over some bushes on the outskirts of the forest and walked along the cleared road set for travelers. The sun was shining down on the forest as the day was still young, and a gentle breeze swept through the air as Ash and May's hair blew gently.

Ash and May were mostly silent since they left the lab. He didn't say a word to her as they were walking through the forest, likewise she didn't utter a sound either. Neither one was comfortable enough to talk with each other now that they were alone, as they were still uncertain about how the other felt about the infant incident. He could feel some uneasiness as he watched her searching the forest alongside him.

During their search for Team Rocket, the two would nervously look at each other after searching through some shrubs and trees. This was followed by an uneasy stare by the two, which only met with awkward silence afterward as they turned away again.

May sighed as she pushed aside some bushes in some hope that she might spot Team Rocket. She didn't like the awkwardness she felt around Ash now. He used to be the person that she felt the most comfortable with on her journey, she would never hesitate to express how she felt on certain things with him, and would always make it blatantly clear on stuff she liked and what she didn't like. She never had any trouble talking with Ash before, but now she felt _shyness_ around him. She would glance up at him as he searched the woods on the other end of the road, try to formulate words and call out to him…only to turn away again without uttering a sound.

May snapped a branch off the bush she was pushing aside in frustration. _Why do I feel so timid that I can't even talk to him?_ May thought to herself, _Ash and I always used to say whatever was on our minds without hesitation, why can't I just say something,_ _anything,_ _without hesitating and holding my tongue. I hate this!_

May took the branch she was holding and forcefully threw it against a tree. The girl was incredibly frustrated with herself that she couldn't even say a word to her friend. She knew that most of the uneasiness was due to the fact that a few hours ago she was mothering him as an infant, and now a few hours later he was a teenage boy who was older than her by four years. But that couldn't be the only reason, could it? She got up from the shrubs and walked back into the clearing on the main road. She watched Ash as he was walking by some trees looking along the ground for any clue as to where Team Rocket was. The girl grinded her teeth as she was trying to get a grip on herself and act naturally around him like she always did, but the awkward silence still filled the air.

Ash kicked aside some fallen branches with his foot as he looked along the woods. While he was really searching for Team Rocket, Ash's heart wasn't in his search. His mind was still on May, as he was still trying to absorb the uneasiness between them. He knew that part of the reason that they were avoiding each other in the forest was because they didn't quite know how to interact with one another. The conversation they shared in the lab was mostly a show, a farce so that Brock and the Professor wouldn't notice anything strange between them before they left. May played along, as both she and Ash knew that they had to make it appear that everything was fine between them. But Ash knew that there was something awkward, and he knew that May felt it too.

He rested his palm on the tree as he naively looked back at her in the clearing as she was walking slowly with her head down. She had an upset expression on her face as she roamed the dusty dirt road as the occasional leaves fell off the trees around her. He noticed that May wasn't even bothering to look for Team Rocket anymore, she was just roaming the road aimlessly as she randomly turned to some bushes to make it look like she was still searching.

He sighed as she leaned her back against a tree and crossed her arms. One leg was bent so that her foot was resting flat against the tree while she was standing on the other. The girl stared at the ground trying to figure out what exactly was wrong.

"She…looks lonely, standing there all by herself," Ash muttered to himself, "Something's troubling her."

Ash knew that they weren't going to be able to find Team Rocket in the state they were in, he knew something had to be done. The boy took a deep breath as he removed his palm from the tree. He had to talk with her and break the awkward silence, only then would she be able to open up again and act like she used to. Ash slowly walked out of the woods and toward the clearing.

May looked up as she saw him walking toward her. She raised her eyebrows as she stood away from the tree. "This silence has got to end," she said to herself as she walked toward him.

The two walked toward each other until they were standing next to each other in the middle of the dirt road. Ash and May looked at each other cautiously, each wondering who would speak first. May's sapphire eyes lit up as the girl noticed that Ash was about to speak.

"Errm….May? Is something bothering you?" Ash asked, cautiously.

She was a bit surprised at his first question, as this was the first thing he said to her since they left the lab.

"Uh…no! Not really…" May scratched her arm nervously, "Well yeah…I'm kinda…well frustrated."

He knew immediately how she felt.

"Frustrated that we're both seemingly avoiding each other and not saying a word to one other?" he said slyly.

May chuckled quietly, "Yea that's it. I don't like it, I don't like this at all."

"I know what you mean. It's really quiet while we're searching the woods. I just kinda couldn't bring myself to say anything to you, May."

"But why is that? I…" May looked at Ash in the eyes, "I never had trouble talking with you before. For some reason I feel kind of…you know…shy."

"Maybe seeing me older again was too much a shock after you took care of me as a baby?"

"Probably. I think it's because…I don't know what you thought about it, Ash."

Ash grinned, "That's what I'm going to tell you right now. I want to say thanks, you really did a great job making me feel comfortable yesterday when I was a baby."

"Heh, well somebody had to take care of you," May said, beginning to feel more comfortable talking with him, "Even if you were a rotten brat most of the time."

"Heh, well from what I remember you weren't exactly an angel yourself as an infant. I think I can still remember that bump on the head you gave me from knocking me off the Professor's table when he was about to turn me back to normal the first time," Ash said, cracking a smile.

"That didn't hurt that badly did it?" May held her hands behind her back as she walked closer to Ash, "You have a thick head, I'm sure it didn't hurt that much."

May stood up on her tippy toes and gently knocked on Ash's head with her fist. "Yep, it's as hard as a rock!" she said playfully.

Ash smiled as May backed up a few steps. They both noticed that they were finally interacting with each other the way they used to, as most of the awkwardness was fading away. Perhaps talking was the best way to explain their emotions to each other, even if it meant taking time out of the search for Team Rocket.

"Heh, I remember how happy I felt when you were holding me too. You never hesitated to pick me up when I needed you," Ash said.

"Well you were so adorable you know, I couldn't resist," May said, rubbing her shoe nervously in the dirt, "Just like my brother is now…I was probably cute as a baby too!"

Ash motioned with his hand to continue walking along the dirt road. May walked next to him as the two continued to walk deeper into the forest. Her face beamed as she continued holding her hands behind her back. Both of them were quite pleased that they were able to have a conversation so easily, especially when they both felt awkward around each other.

"So Ash," May said happily, "What happened back at the lab…you remember it all right?"

"You mean as a baby?" Ash asked as he turned to her, "Of course, didn't you say you remembered everything you did too?"

May stepped over some fallen branches as the two walked over the shrubs and into the deeper part of the forest. There were scattered leaves all over the ground which crunched as the two stepped over them.

May blushed as she was about to ask Ash something he experienced as an infant, "How…did you feel about sleeping with me?"

"Huh?" Ash uttered.

"You know…when we slept in bed together," May's blush grew as she felt herself getting more embarrassed. She struggled to say her words as her voice cracked. "I…held you in my arms as we slept, you didn't want to sleep alone, remember?"

"Yea…I know," Ash coughed.

"Aside from sleeping next to my mother and father when I was a little girl, I think you're the only other person I've ever slept in the same bed with Ash," May said, fixing her hair.

"Well I _was_ an infant, it would be a different experience from sleeping in the same bed with you now," Ash said, laughing.

"Tee hee!" May giggled, "Yeah, imagine if we slept in the same bed together like we are now? That would be really embarrassing."

"I…don't think we'd even fit on the same bed together," Ash mused.

"I know, I'd probably kick you off the bed accidentally while we were sleeping. I remember my Mom and Dad saying that only adults should sleep in the same bed together," May said, thinking about her parents.

Both of them were completely unaware of the sexual connotation they alluded themselves to. After all they are still kids, and neither Ash nor May had a good grasp on adult situations and themes.

"So you didn't mind then?" she asked, as she quickly stood herself in front of Ash so she could see his reaction, "I was kinda wondering what you'd think about that."

Ash looked to the side quickly as he didn't quite know what to say. "D-on't worry, May. I think it was the best night of sleep I ever had in a good while to be honest."

May nodded. It was a relief for her to hear that Ash didn't think of her too differently after they slept together, which was one of her concerns.

Ash marched forward as he looked back at May who was standing a few feet behind him, "I wonder what Brock and Max thought about us sleeping together, you know. I mean, they saw us when they went to bed didn't they?"

May rubbed her chin, "I guess so. I don't think my brother would think that was too strange. I couldn't just let you sleep by yourself, could I? And I'm sure Brock understood that as well."

Ash remembered how content and comforted he felt when she held onto him as they slept. He remembered how the warmth from her body helped him fall asleep faster, and how she rested her chest against him. Ash shook his head and chuckled over his conflicting emotions from his infant personality and his current one.

May continued looking around the forest trying to figure out if what they were doing was a waste of time. "Ash, shouldn't you send your Swellow out so we can search by air as well?" she called out to her friend.

"You're right," Ash said, "We spent so much time thinking about each other that we're not really focusing on the search...eheh."

"Heh, I have to admit. I'm not really searching as hard as I should be," May admitted while kicking a fallen tree branch.

"Yeah, we have to stop getting ourselves distracted with each other," Ash smiled.

"Well maybe if you stop thinking what I'm thinking, and I stop thinking what you're thinking, we can you know…" May trailed off.

"…find the Professor's ray gun and Tyranitar? Yeah, that would be a good idea," Ash snickered as he threw out a Pokeball.

"Yeah…the sooner we find Team Rocket the better," May said as she crunched the tree branch she was standing on.

The flash of light formed into the bird Pokemon, Swellow. The flying type had dark blue feathers with a white underbelly and a colored beak. Swellow soared in the sky above the young travelers. It looked down at Ash knowingly.

"That's right, Swellow, Team Rocket again. You know the drill," Ash nodded with his hand on the brim of his hat.

"Swellow!" the flying Pokemon yelled across the skies as it started flapping its wings over the forest.

Ash and May watched as the bird Pokemon flew overhead and out of sight.

"Is it kind of sad or what, that Swellow knows that Team Rocket stole something of ours almost immediately when you send it out?" May asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Sad on Team Rockets' part I'd say," Ash jeered, "Swellow knows by now how to find them, I think the quickest rate in which Swellow found Team Rocket was in like two minutes flat."

"Ha! Swellow makes a great sentry. I really should capture myself a flying Pokemon someday now that I left Beautifly with my Mom," May said.

"Yeah, I've had three of them so far. Flying Pokemon not only do great searches, but their flight is absolutely crucial in battle. Pokemon constantly soaring in the air can confuse their opponents," Ash told her.

May continued raising a finger as if she were teaching, "And flying Pokemon move so fast in the air that they can give a series of swift physical attacks to their opponents during battles and knock them out before they even know what hit them."

"That's a great strategy, May, who told you that one?" Ash asked curiously.

"You did," May winked.

"Oh…well I guess I did mention that one day or another," Ash laughed.

"I have a good memory, I'll never forget some of your battle strategies Ash," May said as she walked ahead of Ash.

"Ehheh," Ash grunted nervously as he quickly trailed behind her.

~*~*~*~*

On the other side of the forest, deep within the heavy trees and foliage blocking the view from outsiders lie Jessie, James and Meowth on the ground. The three of them were resting on their backs with crumbs of food all over their faces on top of a folded out white tablecloth. They were gazing absent-mindedly at the branches of the trees in the sky. Sitting next to them were several bags of food, with a bunch of half-eaten food sitting on various plates.

"Ah, that felt good," Jessie burped.

"You mean the backrub Wobbufett gave you?" James asked.

"No you moron, I'm talking about the food," Jessie picked up her head angrily.

"Yeah, it's always great to treat yourself to a victory feast after a job well done," Meowth smiled as he sat up.

"Heh, I really must say we did a good job this time. I told you all that practice battling would make our Pokemon stronger," Jessie said, resting on her knees.

"All that training really did pay off," James bellowed, "I never knew practice battling could be so fun either!"

"What was da' score last time any'way?" Meowth asked.

"Hmmm, good question, Meowth," Jessie pondered, "I think I beat his Cacnea…3 – 0!"

"That's not true, you liar! It was my Cacnea who beat your Seviper 3-0! You got it the wrong way!" James yelled.

"Oh well…I can't be bothered to remember all the details…AHA!" Jessie laughed, covering her face.

Meowth and James frowned.

"Gee, I wonder if she says things like this on purpose or if she really is delirious," James asked Meowth.

"I t'ink we found out that answer years ago," Meowth sighed.

"You two DO realize I'm sitting right in front of you?" Jessie asked angrily.

"Yeah well, we don't even bother insulting you in secret anymore," James put his hands behind his head lazily, "Now it just comes naturally."

"You're testing my patience, James," Jessie said, grinding her teeth.

"Meh. Don't worry, Jimmy, we only need to put up with her until we get back to da bosses mansion," Meowth said, "Then we'll be so filthy rich that she won't have any reason to yell at us anymore. We'll all be stinkin' rich in the moola!"

"Yes…one can dream of a day with no torment or cruelty from a certain red haired woman," James replied.

"How about I just strangle you two right on the spot? That way I'll be able to keep all the bonuses and cash for myself," Jessie threatened as her forehead pulsated.

"She does have a point, Meowth. I like my neck muscles the way they are," James said, sitting upright.

"Pah! At least I have nine lives as backup," Meowth sat up a bit worried, "Oh wait…or is that only seven lives I have now? I remember nearly being done in three times…or wait was it four times?"

Suddenly Meowth received a punch straight to his face which knocked him flat on his back.

"If you have any fractured bones I guess you only have six lives now, huh?" Jessie sneered after she gave Meowth a fist to the face.

"That looked painful, are you alright, Meowth?" James asked.

Meowth pressed his paws against his face in pain and spoke nasally, "You know I really gotta learn to keep my big Meowth shut sometimes."

"Idiots," Jessie said, wiping the crumbs off her face.

She then crawled on her knees over to the bags of food. The Professor's ray gun and the Pokeball containing his Tyranitar were sitting next to each other. Jessie picked up Tyranitar's Pokeball.

"Hmmm, do you two think we'd be able to bring this Tyranitar under our control?" Jessie asked.

"But how? It belongs to that old fogey. Surely it will notice its master isn't here and turn on us, especially since it blasted us away once before when we tried to steal it," James said.

"You worry too much, James. After all, this Tyranitar is _our_ property now, is it not? It has no choice but to obey," Jessie sneered as she stood up.

Meowth and James stood up nervously as it looked like Jessie was about to throw the ball.

"And what if it starts attacking us! Our perfect plan could be ruined!" Meowth shouted, raising his arms.

"Then I'll quickly recall it back into it's ball. I may be a genius but I'm not stupid," Jessie laughed, "If I can't control it than I'll just force it back into its ball and leave it to rot until we see the boss."

"I don't know about this, what do you think, Meowth?" James asked.

"It's not like we have a choice in the matter. This is Jessie we're talking about," Meowth said, sadly.

"The depressing truth comes out," James sulked.

"Aha! You two just need a little more faith in me. Come out Tyranitar!" Jessie commanded as she threw the Pokeball in the air.

A flash of white light formed from the Pokeball which slowly started to take shape into the seven foot beast. Jessie, James and Meowth stood next to each other as they watched the light form into the Professor's Tyranitar.

"Raaar," Tyranitar grunted as it looked around. It noticed that it was no longer in the lab, and that the Professor wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Wow…that thing looks…kinda scary…up close," Jessie said, a bit fearful.

"No kidding!" James said as he and Meowth squeezed each other tightly.

Tyranitar's eyes bulged as it realized that Team Rocket were the same crooks that broke into the lab once before. It roared loudly as its screech could be heard throughout the forest.

"Gah! It doesn't look too happy!" Meowth said as it squeezed James around.

"Swell?" Swellow said from the sky as it heard a loud sound roaring from the other end of the forest. The bird Pokemon quickly changed directions as it swooped over to the source of the sound.

Ash and May stopped in their tracks as the echo of Tyranitar's screech had reached them. Unfortunately for them, they were nowhere near the spot where Team Rocket was.

"What the heck was that?" Ash asked.

"I don't know but whatever it was it sounded angry," May stuttered.

"C'mon…" Ash motioned as he turned around, "Let's start walking in this direction."

May followed him as the two started walking toward the source of the roar. Ash was too caught up in the roar that he wasn't looking where he was going and tripped over a rock.

"Argh!" Ash grunted as he fell face first into the dirt.

"Uh….Ash?" May asked as she walked in front of his face.

"Little help?" Ash said as he lifted his hand up toward May.

"Heh, even though you're not a baby anymore, Ash, I'll still help you," May said as she extended her hand down toward him.

He grabbed her hand as she helped him stand up from the ground. Ash stood next to her as he brushed the dirt off his shoulders.

"You're ok, right? You don't need me to wipe away your tears now do you?" May asked mockingly.

"Nah," Ash replied.

May turned around as the two started walking deeper into the forest again. Ash walked slowly behind her as he felt some guilt eating away in the back of his mind. There was still one thing bothering him that he wanted to tell her.

"Damn," Ash sighed, "May!"

May turned around a bit confused, "Huh? What is it?"

Ash hesitated a bit as May stood in front of him. She stared at him innocently as she walked a bit closer to him. He took a quick glance at May's figure which only further solidified his guilt.

"May…I want to apologize to you," Ash said quietly.

"Apologize? What for?" May asked curiously.

She noticed that he quickly looked down at her chest. She raised an eyebrow as she realized what this was about.

"I want to say I'm sorry," Ash held his right arm quietly, "I'm sorry for walking in on you when you were taking a shower."

A startled May had red blots of embarrassment appear on her cheeks.

"I'm sure you know already, it's something that I felt guilty over once I knew what I did. I just wanted to tell you. I…didn't want to see you like that without your consent," Ash confessed.

May eyes began to water as she didn't quite know how to respond, "But, um…" She cleared her throat as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'll…"

Ash walked next to her and turned his head to her, May continued to stare toward the ground.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's ok. I don't expect you to either. I just wanted to apologize, I…didn't want to embarrass you like that. And I had no right to see you naked either," Ash said guilty, as he turned aside.

May clenched her teeth. She turned to Ash quickly and grabbed his arm, a surprised Ash looked back at her as she held his right arm from a distance.

"Thanks for being honest, Ash," May said as she let go of his arm.

He put on a half smile. She looked at him passionately as her eyes wobbled in typical emotional patterns.

"I believe you, Ash," May smiled, "I won't hold it against you. Even as an infant I know you just wanted me to play with you."

"Thanks," Ash replied.

As Ash started walking again May impulsively ran ahead of him to stop him in his tracks. She still had something on her mind.

"You…still clearly remember what I looked like when I stepped out of the shower?" May asked impulsively.

"It was only for like three seconds before you pulled the curtains over yourself anyway…but I erm…still have the image in my mind," Ash gasped.

"Oh." May stammered. "I'm kinda feeling embarrassed around you again."

"Hey, you got a peek at me too remember?" Ash said to cheer her up.

May giggled, "Ash…but that was different. You were an infant, so even though I changed you it wasn't well…quite the same."

Ash pulled the brim of his hat over his eyes more, "I guess."

"So, do you think we can put this embarrassing moment behind us?" May asked, clasping her hands.

"I'm willing to forget it if you are," Ash winked.

"Heehee, you're winking at me on purpose aren't you?" May asked, referring to how she winked at him as an infant. "It's just that my Mom told me to never let a boy see me naked…I don't want her to find out about this."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Ash said as he started walking again.

"Can I ask you one more thing about this?" May asked as she leaped in front of him once more.

"What now?" Ash asked, getting slightly impatient.

"I didn't…look _bad_ did I?" May asked a bit crestfallen.

"Erm, you….looked…" Ash struggled with his embarrassment, "You looked uh…nice."

May nodded. The two shared friendly smiles and gestures as they continued walking through the woods. He was relieved that he finally got his guilt off his chest.

~*~*~*~~*

On the other end of the forest, Tyranitar marched one foot forward toward Team Rocket. Jessie now shared James' and Meowths' fear as the three of them held each other around trembling.

"M-a-ybe th-is wasn'-t such a goo-d i-dea," Jessie said, shaking.

"Y-ou th-ink?!" Meowth yelled.

Tyranitar pulled back its arms as it looked like it was ready to send Team Rocket flying through the air. The angry Pokemon suddenly noticed food out of the corner of it's eye. It looked over to where Team Rocket's picnic was, and saw a bunch of meat, fruit, and snacks lining the tablecloth on the ground.

Team Rocket caught wind that Tyranitar was looking at their food, and quickly devised up a plan.

"Ty-ranitar?" James asked rubbing his hands together.

"Rrrrrrraw?" Tyranitar turned to James.

"The…uh…Professor has agreed to uh…let us take you out for a walk…" James said nervously, trying to think of something to say.

"Unh yeah!" Jessie continued anxiously, "He decided to make up with us…and uh…in order to be on good terms with your lovely master again he told us to treat you to a nice buffet!"

"…?" Tyranitar grunted as it looked back at the food.

"Just t'ink about it!" Meowth waved his arms, "We have all kinds of good food. Sandwiches and cake and chips and soda and…"

"Yes he's right!" James interrupted as he pranced in front of the Pokemon, "Now wouldn't eating all of our food…I mean _your_ food be much better than sending us flying through the air?"

Tyranitar roared again as it wasn't buying Team Rocket's scheme.

"AHHHH!" James screamed as he quickly jumped away from Tyranitar.

Tyranitar grinned devilishly as he stomped the ground with his right foot. The ground trembled around it as Team Rocket struggled to stand.

"GAHHH! It's like a mini-earthquake!" Jessie shouted as she held James in fear.

Tyranitar stomped the ground one more time as the shock forced the trio to fall on the ground. It then grinned as it walked toward the food sitting on the ground.

"I don't like where dis is going!" Meowth said as he stood up.

Team Rocket watched as Tyranitar opened the bags of food and started throwing it in his mouth. The Pokemon took one snack after another and scarfed it down quickly. Jessie, James and Meowth's jaws dropped to the floor as Tyranitar was eating all their food.

"Uh…that's right Tyranitar. All that grub is for you!" Jessie said nervously as she rubbed her hands, "That's right….help yourself to your hearts content!"

James covered his mouth so that Tyranitar wouldn't hear him, "Jessie! This giant lizard is going to eat up all our food! Why don't you just recall it back into it's Pokeball while it's back is turned?"

"No," Jessie whispered back, "Don't you see? If we pretend that we're acting nice to Tyranitar then maybe it'll believe us. Besides, what good is a big strong and powerful Pokemon to us if we can't even use it? It'll be a waste to just keep in it's ball."

"I dunno about this," Meowth whispered, "How da ya know it won't just turn on us after it eats up all our grub?"

"Good point," Jessie whispered.

Tyranitar held the bag in the air as the last morsel of food dropped in its mouth. The Pokemon chewed the cracker and after it swallowed it tossed the bag aside. The giant Pokemon didn't catch notice of the ray gun however, which was sitting next to some shrubs at the edge of the tablecloth resting on the ground. The Pokemon turned brashly toward Team Rocket.

"It looks like we're gonna be murderized!" Meowth whispered frantically.

"What are we going to do? Just put the thing back in it's Pokeball quickly!" James warned.

"You two are so pathetic and useless. Can't you think of anything?" Jessie sneered, "Well I know, how's about this?"

Tyranitar watched as Team Rocket got into a group huddle discussing their plans. Tyranitar couldn't hear what they were saying but wasn't going to wait around much longer.

"Excellent!" James said, hitting his hand with his fist.

Team Rocket let go of each other as they faced the towering seven foot Pokemon. The three put on fake nervous smiles as Jessie and Meowth walked around to his back. Tyranitar looked hastily as to where they were going.

"Hey there, big fella!" James yelled to catch it's attention, "Are you feeling depressed lately? Big ol' scales getting you down?"

The Pokemon looked at James like he was crazed. Jessie and Meowth leaped onto Tyranitar's back as they climbed up to his shoulders. Tyranitar turned his head wondering what the heck they were doing.

"Now there there ,Tyranitar. How's about a nice backrub to sooth your tensions?" James asked happily.

Jessie started massaging Tyranitar's left shoulder while Meowth started rubbing his paws against his right one. Tyranitar growled angrily.

"Aw…now who is a big bad fella in need of some pleasure?" Jessie said, rubbing its left shoulder.

"Yeah, Tyranny! You should just relaaaaaaax. We'll make you feel as good as new….gah!" Meowth screamed in pain as he rubbed his paws too quickly over one of Tyranitar's scales.

The Pokemon towered over James not looking anymore content. James waved his hands nervously to calm it down.

"Hey hey! Let's not be too hasty! We let you have our food and now you're enjoying a nice backrub! Isn't that enough?" James asked frantically.

"Tyrrrrraaaannnnnitar!" The Pokemon roared as it shook Jessie and Meowth off his shoulders.

Jessie and Meowth fell to the ground as they crawled quickly behind James.

"It didn't buy it!" James yelled.

"Well how was I to know that it wouldn't like a massage! Just about everyone does!" Jessie panicked.

Tyranitar formed an orange ball of light in it's mouth as it looked menacingly at Team Rocket.

"It's going to fire a Hyper Beam at us!" Meowth warned.

"Zaaaaar!" Tyranitar roared as it shot the beam of light from it's mouth.

"Hit the dirt!" Jessie yelled.

The three of them ducked to the ground with their hands over their heads. The Hyper Beam just missed them as it made contact and destroyed some trees behind them. Jessie, James and Meowth looked up as Tyranitar started forming another Hyper beam in it's mouth.

"Run for it!" Jessie yelled.

"GAH!" James and Meowth panicked as they all ran in different directions.

Hyper Beams started shooting out in every direction, all of which missed Team Rocket but ended up blowing up and destroying the trees in the forest. Trees burst into flames as the ground exploded upon receiving impact by this colossal energy attack.

Swellow swooped over the forest until it spotted beams of light being shot from the ground. It dove down to get a closer look in which it then spotted Tyranitar firing bursts in every direction. Several trees were catching fire due to the attack, as well as ground being overturned in the explosions. It stopped mid-flight next to a tree as it also spotted Team Rocket running frantically in circles trying to escape it's blasts.

"Swell!" Swellow nodded as it found Team Rocket.

"Run for your life!" Meowth screamed.

Jessie hopped over a blast that nearly hit her legs, "I'm not made for these kind of gymnastics!"

"AHH!" James cried as he felt the beam of light just narrowly missing his hair. The light had fired right above his head and narrowly missed him, "Just recall that thing in it's Pokeball Jessie!"

"You're right!" Jessie held the Pokeball in front of her as she aimed it at Tyranitar.

Tyranitar saw what Jessie was trying to do as it fired another Hyper Beam in her direction. Jessie panicked as she hit the dirt and dropped the Pokeball which started rolling away from her.

"The ball!" Jessie panicked.

"Swellow? Swell!" Swellow exclaimed as the Hyper Beam hit the tree right next to it!

The bird Pokemon looked frantically as the force of the blast managed to knock the tree off its roots. The rather large tree had a very thick trunk, and it ended up snapping in half as the top came crashing down.

"SWELLOW!" Swellow cried in fear as the giant tree started falling in its direction.

Swellow frantically tried to fly away but the heavy trunk of the tree slammed down on its back. The mighty bird Pokemon was slammed into the ground as the top half of the tree came crashing down on top of it. The Pokemon lay in pain on the ground as the tree trunk was on top of its entire body, only leaving its head free from the impact.

"S-w-ellow?" Swellow cried as the fallen tree had crushed its body.

The pain was too intense for the flying type as it collapsed under the pressure of the tree trunk which had just slammed down on its back. The Pokemon was about to faint due to the intense pain.

It uttered one last cry for help, "Swellow swell!" which translated to "Ash….I failed," before the flying type fainted on the ground.

Unbeknownst to both Team Rocket and the Tyranitar, Ash's Swellow clung desperately to life as its body was crushed and trapped under the fallen tree.

"Dammit!" James gasped as he darted for the Pokeball on the ground.

"TYRANITAAAAAAAR!" The Pokemon shouted in triumph.

James frantically pointed toward the Tyranitar while having his stomach flat on the ground. "Return!" James shouted.

The beam of red light shot out from the Pokeball and made contact with Tyranitar. The Pokemon didn't quite have time to react as the light pulled the Pokemon back inside it's Pokeball.

An ominous silence filled the forest with only sounds of burning trees and flicking fire echoing throughout the woods. James stood up nervously as he held the Pokeball in his hands. Jessie and Meowth slowly walked toward him as they all brushed the dirt off themselves.

"You…got it back into it's ball," Jessie said.

"Yes I did," James gasped, "Finally."

"The ray gun!" Meowth suddenly remembered, "Make sure it wasn't damaged in the blasts!"

"Oh crap!" Jessie shouted as she quickly ran over to the tablecloth they were sitting on.

She quickly looked over the ground as she spotted the ray gun, safe and sound. Jessie bent down and picked the device up in her hands.

"It looks OK, I don't think it was hit by any of the blasts," Jessie said, examining it.

"Phew, dats a relief. At least it's not broken," Meowth wiped his forehead.

"I knew this was a bad idea, Jess!" James said angrily, lowering the Pokeball.

"You're right, we should have just kept it in its Pokeball and gave it to the Boss. He'd know how to handle a Pokemon like this. Whose idea was it to let Tyranitar out of it's Pokeball in the first place?" Jessie asked softly.

"IT WAS YOURS!" James and Meowth shouted in unison.

"Ugh, you two don't have to rub it in," Jessie sneered.

"A lot of these trees are burning up, the whole forest could catch on fire," James said fearfully.

"Well let's not stick around while it spreads," Jessie stated.

"C'mon youze two, let's get outta here! All this noise could have warned the twerps of our location!" Meowth said as he started marching out of the forest.

Jessie and James quickly followed him. "Oh don't worry, Meowth, I bet those twerps have no idea we were here," Jessie said.

The three of them quickly ran out of the forest holding the ray gun and Tyranitar's Pokeball. A few of the trees around them were burning up in flames, as the fire slowly started to spread to other trees in the immediate area. Little did they know that Ash's Swellow was still badly injured in the forest, as its bones were crushed by the weight of the heavy tree….

~*~*~*~*

"Ugh…what the heck was all that noise?" May asked, pushing some branches out of her face.

"It sounded like a Pokemon battle or something…" Ash said.

"Do you smell something?" May asked as she sniff the air.

"It smells like smoke!" Ash said angrily, "There must be something caught on fire ahead."

Suddenly, something hit Ash like lightning. For some reason, he knew that his Swellow was in trouble.

"Swellow?" Ash asked a bit confused.

"Ash?" May asked.

"My Swellow…for some reason…I think it's hurt or something," Ash said nervously looking around the vicinity.

"How do you know that? It's probably still searching overhead," May tried comforting him.

"I…I don't know. I just had this strange feeling wash over me…that's all," Ash started to shrug his shoulders.

May walked up to Ash's back and placed her hand on his right shoulder, "C'mon Ash, I'm sure it's fine. Let's at least keep heading to where all that noise came from. We may find something there."

Ash looked at May and smiled, "You're probably right."

"If there's a fire though we better get out of the woods. It could spread all over the trees and grass…maybe even surround us!" May said nervously.

"I'll make sure we don't get ourselves into danger, I'll promise you that, May," Ash said boldly.

The two continued walking forward as they stepped over the cracking leaves and dead branches. The faint smell of smoke filled the air, as the two were completely unaware that they were heading into a burning inferno due to the thick foliage blocking the view from all directions.

"Swellow," Ash muttered under his breath, "Please be ok..." _Please..._

 


	13. 13 is an unlucky number

**Zero: Hello world!**

**Aj: HEY HI!**

**Mike: WHY ARE YOU MY SISTER ASHLEY!**

**Aj: You know i HATE THAT NAME!**

**Mike: That why I said it!**

**Zero: Hey calm down!**

**Disclaimer: Zero doesn't own pokemon.**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**~13 is an unlucky number~**

 

 

"He's different than the other two," the Professor noticed.

"He's so quiet, he barely ever says anything," Brock replied.

"What would you rather have, a chatterbox?"

"I don't mind either way, really. It's just funny how different he is from his sister and even Ash."

The Professor and Brock were sitting on opposite couches while Max sucked his thumb contently on the floor. The Professor kicked up his heels and rested his legs along the entire couch. He rubbed his belly with his hand while he clucked his tongue.

"Hey, Max, are you hungry?" Brock asked softly.

Max looked up at him and shook his head.

Pikachu suddenly ran across the floor and hopped over the Professor's couch. He bounced off the Professor's stomach which made him jerk his body.

"OOF!" The Professor sat up quickly and spat some saliva out of his mouth, "Oh am I going to get up and give that Pikachu a good kick in the behind."

"Pika…kapi?" Pikachu sweat dropped nervously.

"You know that hurt, didn't you?" A disgruntled Professor said, "How would you like it if I bounced off your stomach?

"Uh…aren't you taking this a little too seriously? It was an accident," Brock said.

"PIKA," Pikachu shouted as it ran toward Max.

The young infant started playfully pulling on Pikachu's tail. Pikachu smiled at Max as he yanked on his tail.

The Professor stopped in his tracks and slowly got a hold of himself. He wiped his brow and sat back down on the couch.

"Sorry," The Professor grunted, "As I told you before, I don't get company much."

"We've noticed," Brock said, folding his hands.

"I really hope those two find my ray gun quickly, there's still a lot of work you guys need to do for me," The Professor said.

"Do all your machines do all your work for you?" Brock asked quickly to change the conversation, "You told us you worked for Devon Corp., but what exactly is it that you're trying to help them accomplish? Why do you work for the company?"

"I work for them because I have to make a living. Usually it's just me and my machines here…it gets kind of lonely most of the time," The Professor yawned, "As you know guests are a rarity here. So I program the machines you saw downstairs to help me with my work."

Max and Pikachu held hands as the two started walking around the room. It seems like Pikachu was the "person" that Max was opening up to the most. Max grinned as Pikachu took it on a little tour around the small room.

"I am also an inventor and over the erm… _years,_ I've been trying to solve something that no human being on this planet has been able to," The Professor said.

"Would that have anything to do with that ray gun you created to de-age people?" Brock asked.

The Professor noticed that Brock was starting to get very nosy with his work. He fixed his hair a bit suspiciously.

"Maaaaaybe. That's one piece of the puzzle," The Professor said.

Pikachu and Max looked up on the shelves on the room, another device similar to the ray gun rested on the top shelf. May had seen this device before when she accidentally turned herself and Ash into infants, but she ignored it in favor of the other ray gun instead.

The Professor eyed Max and Pikachu as they were looking up at the top shelf. Brock cleverly followed the Professor's gaze trying not to make him notice. Brock saw another mechanic gun with a dish-like antenna at the end resting on a shelf. He wondered if it was a device that did the same thing as the one that Team Rocket stole.

Max accidentally stepped on Pikachu's foot as the little yellow rodent cried out in pain. The electric Pokemon let out an electric attack as a defense mechanism which happened almost instantaneously. The electric attack fired above it toward the top shelf in the room, which ending up breaking it off its hinges. The metallic gun that rested on the top shelf came falling down to the floor.

"OH CRAP," The Professor yelled as he darted for the device.

Brock quickly leaped off the couch as he also darted for the device. "I got it!" he yelled.

The Professor and Brock both missed it as they ended up crashing into one another. The metallic gun fell on the floor as the shelf fell down on top of Brock and the Professor's head.

"GAH!" The Professor shouted angrily as the wooden shelf fell on top of him.

"Ugh, now that hurt," Brock grunted as he pulled the shelf off them. The two of them got up as they rubbed their heads.

"That's the second time today you hurt me, you electric rodent!" The Professor fumed.

"Pikachu pika!" Pikachu shook his head nervously.

Max laughed and put his right thumb back in his mouth. While the Professor bellowed, Brock bent down on the floor and picked up the metallic gun. The Professor nervously looked back at Brock once he saw him pick up the gun.

"Hey, give me that!" The Professor said as he snatched the gun out of Brock's hands, "This better not be broken."

"That gun, it looks almost exactly the same as the one that turned my friends into infants," Brock said sternly.

The Professor lowered the gun once he saw that it was fine. "No. This doesn't do the same thing as the other one."

"Well what does that one do? If it can turn Max back to normal…" Brock said.

"It CAN'T!" The Professor shouted. His tone of voice suddenly shifted to a high pitched tone, "This device uh….cures hair loss!"

"What?" Brock was astonished.

The Professor rubbed his hand along his bald scalp and then fixed the ends of his hair over his ears. "Hair loss is no joke my friend. I've uh…been trying to find a way to re-grow my hair for years!"

"Really?" Brock asked.

"Of course really. What do you think this does? Why would I lie to you?" The Professor said as he quickly stashed the device away in his desk drawer.

"No reason," Brock replied, "Just a little curious, that's all."

The Professor noticed that Brock was still a little untrusting. He didn't completely believe what the Professor had just told him.

"How old are you?" Brock asked impulsively.

"What? Why are you asking me such a question? Don't you know it's not polite to ask an elderly ones age?" The Professor stuttered.

"There's something more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?" Brock asked with a straight face.

The Professor slapped his forehead and rubbed it down the rest of his face. He walked away from Brock slowly and looked up at the room thinking. He knew that Brock was started to get a little suspicious. After all, he was the only one of the four that didn't get turned into an infant, and thus had more time to assess the oddities of the Professor and the lab. The Professor turned around and walked back to him.

"Want me to let you in on a little secret?" The Professor asked slyly.

"Such as?" Brock asked.

"Heh. Ever wonder what it's like to live throughout the ages? Ever wonder how the world will be like 200 or so years in the future? Well…let me tell you boy," The Professor approached Brock's ear.

The Professor whispered in a low voice, "Living forever isn't as impossible a concept as some believe."

Brock was a bit startled as he backed up a bit, "You're…not joking are you?"

"'Fraid not my friend," The Professor said, cracking a smile, "Having all the women you want and having infinite time to explore and invent new things is just a click away."

Brock raised an eyebrow, "All the _women_ you could want? That sounds interesting," Brock said trustingly.

"You like the ladies?" The Professor asked.

"Well…yeah. Why wouldn't I? It's just that I've never really been that….successful," Brock admitted, rubbing his arm.

"Hmmmm, maybe as a good gesture I'll help you with that after your seven day work period is done. You and your friends DO have a debt to repay me, remember?"

"Uh sure…but how…?"

"Don't try to absorb all of this at once," The Professor turned the doorknob and started walking out of his room, "After all, my 269 year old bones need time to rest too."

The Professor shut the door as he walked out of the room.

Brock stood there completely dumbfounded as Pikachu and Max looked up at him.

"I don't believe it…" Brock was astounded, "I was right!"

"Pika?" Pikachu asked.

"The Professor wasn't kidding, I think he HAS discovered something that no other person on this planet has," Brock said, elated.

Brock looked down at infant Max as he realized exactly how the Professor did it.

"He keeps on extending his life!" Brock slapped his forehead, "He's…he's made himself practically immortal," a flabbergasted Brock said as he fell back on the couch.

~*~*~*~~*

Meanwhile, two weary trainers were about to find themselves in a life threatening situation. Ash and May continued running through the forest, pushing shrubs, branches and foliage out of their way. Heavy smoke started to fill the air, but the two were completely unaware at how serious the situation was.

May panted, "I think we should turn back…there's way too much smoke around here, Ash!"

"I will…I just gotta see what happened on the other side of these trees," Ash gasped as he coughed into his arm.

Ash knocked aside a tree branch as he saw flames quickly spreading from tree to tree. May caught up to Ash and stood next to him, as they were both completely dumbfounded as to how this happened. Many of the plants and shrubs on the ground were burning, and the trees which towered nearly 11 feet in the air were also catching on fire. The wind was something to be concerned about as well, as it carried the fire from the leaves of the trees to the rest of the forest.

Ash and May started to cough as the area they were standing in was filling with smoke. Ash looked horrified as he witnessed the entire forest burning up before his very eyes.

"This whole place is burning up! How could something like this…happen?" Ash grunted.

May quickly hopped aside as a tree fell down in her direction. The burning tree crashed to the ground and made a loud thump on the ground. She was mortified as she was only a few inches apart from being crushed by the large tree.

Ash pulled on May's arm to bring her over to his side, "You're ok, right?" he asked nervously.

"That tree almost hit me!" May gasped as she watched the flames on the leaves spread across the grassy ground. She quickly turned to Ash and panicked. "Ash, we HAVE to get out of here now! We could get ourselves killed!"

Ash nodded as the boy looked around the forest with fear. The burning tree that fell had blocked the way they came from, and the flames on the leaves and branches were too big a risk to jump over. Without thinking, Ash grabbed May's hand as he pulled her with him to the right of the burning inferno.

"We can't go forward…that's where the whole place caught on fire…" Ash gasped as he ran gripping onto her hand, "And we can't go back either, so we'll just have to make a turn here!"

"This should lead us back to the dirt path for travelers, right?" May asked as she ran alongside him, "If we get there we could at least be out of the burning forest."

Ash and May coughed and panted as they continued running across the grassy forest, hoping to get back to the dirt road. Suddenly, more burning branches that had collapsed from the trees above fell in front of them. Ash and May stopped in their tracks as yet another one of their paths had been blocked. Ash was desperate to get himself and May out of danger, and quickly pulled her with him northeast hoping to find a way to escape. The two continued to desperately zigzag around the burning ground as more and more trees and branches started to collapse due to being on fire.

"Ugh, I can barely see where I'm going since all these trees are so thick. Not to mention all the smoke!" Ash coughed as he gripped May's hand tightly.

May frantically stopped in her tracks as she pulled Ash back toward her. "ASH!" she cried, "How do you even know we're going in the right direction?! The whole forest looks exactly the same, we could be heading deeper into the forest instead of toward the open road!"

"There's no time to worry about that!" Ash retorted, "We gotta keep moving! As long as we keep running we won't get caught up by the fire. If we stop, we're as good as dead!"

May let go of Ash's hand in fear. She gasped as she looked around seeing the fire quickly spread around them. "The fire is starting to surround us, Ash!!!" she yelled nervously.

"Ugh…!" Ash panted as he started coughing heavily.

May started stepping backwards as the thick smoke started to hinder her view. She then caught something out of the corner of her eye.

"That…that can't be…!" a distressed May yelled as she saw a familiar Pokemon that lay under a fallen tree.

"May…where are you?" Ash yelled out, waving out his hand.

Ash had one eye closed as he staggered around the forest while he tried reaching out for his friend. She quickly spotted him and pulled on his arm so she could bring him over to her side.

"ASH!" May yelled as she brought him next to her, "I think that's your Swellow over there!"

"What?!" Ash said alarmed.

May pointed toward a knocked over tree which lay on top of a badly injured Pokemon, Ash's Swellow.

Ash grunted nervously as he darted for his Pokemon under the fallen tree. He rested one palm on the bark while he kneeled down and looked fearfully at his Swellow. The poor flying type was unconscious, it looked badly injured as a small puddle of blood lay around it.

Ash was absolutely petrified as he looked at his Swellow. His eyes wobbled as he felt a mix of anxiety, fear, and rage racing through his mind. The boy didn't know if Swellow was still alive, and was scared stiff just thinking about it. Ash quickly rubbed his arm over his tears as he tried lifting the bark of the tree.

"No…" May muttered as she ran over to him. Her heart leaped into her neck upon seeing Ash's Swellow battered and bleeding under the tree. Swellow looked like it was near-death. She clasped her hands nervously as the fire continued to spread around them.

"UGGGGGHHHHHH!" Ash grunted as he tried lifting the bark with his hands, "MAY, GET OVER HERE AND HELP!"

May snapped out of her gaze quickly and placed her hands on the bottom of the bark. The situation at hand was far too dire to hesitate upon, as an impulse drew her to try and summon her strength to lift the tree.

"Swellow…" Ash cried, looking down at the unconscious Pokemon, "I'll get this off yooooouuu….May, try lifting it as hard as you can!"

Ash and May used all their force to try and lift up the fallen tree. The two struggled as tears formed in their eyes from the smoke. They continued to pant and cough as it was getting harder and harder to breathe. Unfortunately, the lumber weighed far too much for two young teens to lift, as they were unsuccessful in lifting it even an inch.

"It's too damn heavy!" May gasped as she let go of the tree.

She coughed and spit saliva out of her mouth as her eyes burned from the smoke. She nervously glanced around her as she noticed that the fire completely surrounded them! The entire forest appeared to be engulfed in flames, and it was only getting worse. If it weren't the fire that got them, the heavy smoke would.

Ash collapsed on the ground as he got on his knees next to his bird Pokemon. Swellow's head was cocked upright on the ground as blood lay beneath it. It's eyes were closed as it looked like it was in intense pain. More tears fell down Ash's face as he couldn't bear seeing one of his Pokemon this way.

May coughed heavily as she dropped down next to Ash. "The fire…it's all around us...we gotta get out of here!" she warned.

Ash wiped the tears out of his eyes nervously, "No…no….I'm not going _anywhere_ without my Swellow!"

Ash patted Swellow's head gently. He was mortified as his body was trembling upon the sight of seeing his Pokemon near-death. May looked at Swellow desperately as she too felt petrified. Her body shook as this was the first time she had seen a Pokemon like this. She felt as if someone took a knife and stabbed it forcefully into her stomach, the pain of seeing Ash's Pokemon like this was too great a shock.

A heavy gust of wind blew through the air which tore some burning branches down and threw them violently at the travelers. May gasped in fear as she saw a huge branch suddenly being thrown right into their direction! Ash had his back turned to the danger approaching as he was kneeling down, panting over his Swellow.

"Get down, Ash!" May cried as tried to pull Ash down to the dirt with her.

May grabbed Ash's shoulder and tried to pull him to the ground but she wasn't quick enough. The heavy branch flung toward Ash and smacked against the back of his head. The branch ending up breaking in two upon impact as Ash fell backward on the floor.

May cried frantically as she clenched her teeth. She quickly sat up and looked to see if her friend was ok.

"ASH!!!" she yelled as turned Ash's body over, "Damn!"

Ash was completely unconscious from the impact of the branch, which forcefully snapped against his head. The young trainer lie on the ground with his eyes closed, having been knocked out after the blow to the head.

"I…don't believe this…!" she exclaimed. May nervously tried shaking Ash to wake him up. She desperately flung his body back and forth but it was to no avail, he was knocked out cold.

The girl stood up and coughed heavily into her arm. The burning fire was approaching them as she felt the heat on her skin. She shook her head frantically as she knew that Ash and Swellow's life rested in her hands.

May pulled on her hair as she looked at Ash's Swellow trapped under the tree. She then quickly glanced at Ash unconscious on the ground. Suddenly, something urged May to quickly take control of the situation as she felt her fear suddenly subsiding. She knew everything was up to her.

"Dammit…!" she gasped as she reached into Ash's pant pocket. The girl coughed heavily in between words from the smoke, "Why…didn't we…think…of this…earlier?"

May grunted frantically as she pulled out a Pokeball from Ash's pocket. "This better be the one!" she exclaimed as she pointed the Pokeball at the Pokemon, "Swellow return!"

A beam of red light shot out from the Pokeball and made contact with Swellow's body. To May's delight, the beam quickly retracted Swellow back into it's Pokeball. She was ecstatic that she had picked the right Pokeball, but the girl was distressed that neither she nor Ash thought of that before. Now she was in an even worse predicament than before with an unconscious Ash laying beside her as the forest continued going up in smoke.

May quickly put the Pokeball back into Ash's pocket as she struggled to lift him up. Ash weighed quite a few more pounds than her, but May was able to lean the boys' body against her as she put his right arm over her head. She gripped onto Ash's right arm with her right hand and his sweatshirt by his stomach with her left in order to pull him along with her.

The girl desperately tried walking with him but his weight prevented her from getting anywhere fast. Another tree branch had fallen right in front of her, but she continued to press onward. The girl knew she couldn't give up, she had to get both herself and Ash into safety.

She continued to pull an unconscious Ash alongside her as an idea popped into her head. Perhaps it was an act of desperation, but May quickly reached into her fanny pack and threw out two Pokeballs.

The quick flashes of light formed into her Combusken and Squirtle. The two Pokemon looked around where they were and gasped in fear. May then reached into Ash's pants pocket and desperately tried to pull out more of his Pokeballs. She gripped two Pokeballs out of his pocket, and while she didn't know which Pokemon she took out, she let out the two Pokemon which it contained.

Out flashed Ash's Sceptile and his Corphish. Four Pokemon now stood before May and Ash, as all of them were completely unaware of what was going on. They nervously looked at May.

"Guys!" May yelled frantically, "Ash is unconscious and this whole forest is in flames! I need you to help us get out of here alive!"

May started panting as she gripped onto Ash even tighter, trying to move him along the ground, "Corphish…Squirtle…I need you guys to clear me a path with your water attacks!"

"Corphish…cor!" Corphish quickly walked over to May as Squirtle followed.

A burning flame flickered in front of them as the path was blocked by burning branches. Squirtle and Corphish knew immediately what they had to do. The two stood next to each other and shot out water attacks to douse the flames in front of them.

"Squirtle!"

"Corrrrrrrrppheeeeeeeeeesh!"

The two water types had shot out Water Gun and Bubblebeam respectively, which managed to douse the fire blocking their path. Unfortunately, this was the least of their problems, as the fire still engulfed them from opposing sides.

The wind blew May's hair as she closed one eye and looked back at Sceptile and Combusken, "Pay attention…ggh! I need you two to knock aside any trees in front of me! Clear us a path! We gotta keep moving or we're as good as dead!"

"Sceptile!" the grass lizard roared as it quickly leaped in front of May readying its Leaf Blade attack.

"Buuuuuuusken!" Combusken somersaulted in the air as it pulled back its arm, ready to use Sky Uppercut.

Sceptile and Combusken launched their attacks at a huge burning tree which blocked the path in front of them. Sceptile's arm formed into a neon glowing blade as he slashed the tree from the side. Combusken launched its fist into a series of uppercuts which pounded away at the core of the tree. The tree started wobbling as it's foundation was weak…but it was starting to tip over _toward_ May and Ash!

"The tree is going to hit us! Gah!" May cried in fear struggling to hold Ash up.

The two Pokemon then desperately ricochet themselves off of opposing trees to body slam the falling tree and knock it to the side. Their force had successfully knocked the tree to the right as it slammed into the ground.

"Sceptile, Combusken I owe you two one!" May was elated.

Corphish and Squirtle started coughing heavily as they breathed in a lot of the heavy black smoke around them.

"Cooooorr," Corphish panted as it quickly ran over to May and Ash. Corphish tugged its pincer on May's skirt to get her attention. The girl looked down at the lobster as she spit another round of saliva out of her mouth.

"Ughhhh, I need…you guys to bear with me…I know it's hard to breathe…!" May coughed as she carried Ash beside her. The boy was wobbling off her shoulders as she held him around tighter. "Corphish and Squirtle, I need you two to constantly fire water attacks in every direction….Sceptile and Combusken, I need you to clear a path for me! Knock down any trees ahead of us!"

The four Pokemon quickly sprang into action. Sceptile and Combusken brought up the lead as the two started knocking aside trees so May could continue walking in a straight path. May held Ash around the waist and chest tightly as she walked in the middle, desperately trying to get out of the forest alive. Corphish and Squirtle brought up the rear as the two stood closely behind May and fired Bubblebeam and Water gun in all directions, trying to douse some of the raging fire. This cycle constantly repeated itself for a good four minutes, as the group desperately continued to march forward…hoping by some chance that the forest would end and they'd get back on the open road.

"Scep!" Sceptile gasped as it slashed another round of fallen branches out of the way.

May tried to breathe but the air was just too thick with smoke, the girl was feeling absent-minded as she nearly tipped over with Ash in her arms. She struggled to open her eyes as she had no idea if she was any closer to safety than before.

Suddenly, Combusken stopped in its tracks. "Combusken! Busken!" the Pokemon shouted happily.

May and the other Pokemon looked toward Combusken to see what it was saying. The girl smiled happily as she saw the forest coming to an end! The dirt road stood a few feet before her, and while she wasn't completely out of danger, it was at least safer from struggling through a burning forest with thick foliage.

"Thank god…" May gasped as she pulled the unconscious boy alongside her.

Corphish and Squirtle gave May a little help, as the two of them started pushing Ash forward so she didn't have to struggle pulling his weight by herself. Sceptile and Combusken leaped toward May as they started pulling her by her arms to get her out of the grassy area. With the support of the four Pokemon, May was able to walk faster and didn't have to hold onto Ash all by herself. Sceptile held the right side of its trainer in order to limit the load on May's shoulders.

"We're…..we're almost there…" May grinned as she saw the dirt road in front of her, "I can't believe it."

May finally stepped out of the woods and onto a clog of dirt….she was finally out of the burning forest…but not completely safe.

May gasped as she fell to her knees on the dirt ground.

"Squirt!" Squirtle said worryingly as it pressed itself against her shoulders.

"Squirtle…" May muttered as she took another deep breath and spit yet another huge clot of saliva out of her mouth. She was desperately trying to clear her throat of the heavy smoke she just inhaled.

May's grip on Ash weakened as the boy fell out of her arms and down on the dirt road. The boy lay on his side with his eyes shut as May stared at him desperately.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile tried waking Ash up by rubbing his shoulders.

May sat on her knees as she continued to spit along the ground. Suddenly, a new fear washed over her. What if Ash received a concussion upon being hit forcefully by that tree branch? May shook her head nervously as she struggled to get a grip on herself, but there was too much to worry about. What if Ash was unconscious due to the lack of clean air? And what about his Swellow? Was it still alive inside its Pokeball?

"DAMN!" May shouted as she stood up again. She looked to the left of her as most of the forest was covered in an orange hue. It was still hard to breathe, but not as bad as it was inside the forest which was completely engulfed in flames.

She bent down and gripped onto Ash's arms once more. She pulled the boy by his arms toward her until she saw his face. An uneasy feeling washed over her as she stared into the unconscious boys' face. The fire flickered behind her as the young girl rested Ash against her arms.

"I…gotta make sure…." May panted as a tear fell down her right cheek, "I…..gotta make sure that we live through this…."

She stood up once more as she pulled Ash's arm over the back of her neck. She held onto Ash's hand with her left hand for support, as she leaned the rest of his body against the right side of her own and gripped his side with her right hand. She looked ahead of her as she saw the dirt road leading to a small river ahead of them. It didn't look like the best of choices, but it was the only way she could go.

"Guys…follow me…" May said to the Pokemon as she started to walk while pulling Ash alongside her.

Sceptile and Combusken gave extra support to May, as they gripped onto Ash's side to help pull him along. Corphish pushed on May's behind with it's pincers in order to make her walk a quicker pace. Squirtle also pushed against Corphish to help boost their speed.

"Thanks…guys…" May grinned. She was relieved by all the help the Pokemon were giving her.

She approached a hill as she started to slowly walk down with Ash in her arms. Unfortunately, Corphish and Squirtle were pushing on her a little too hard when she was trying to walk steady which made her lose her balance!

"CRAP!" May screamed.

She started tumbling over the hill while clinging to Ash's body. The two of them were rolling against one another as they continued to roll down the hill. Shocked, Sceptile and Combusken quickly ran down the hill to catch up.

"Cor…phish!" Corphish slapped Squirtle on the head with its pincer as a way of saying, "You idiot! Why'd you push her so hard?!"

"…Squirtle…squirt?!" Squirtle shook his head nervously.

Corphish sighed and hopped down the hill. A disheartened Squirtle slid down the hill on its shell.

May and Ash tumbled off the hill and slammed onto the grass ahead of them. Ash fell on the grass a few feet before her as May lay face first in the dirt.

"GAH!" May got up quickly as she wiped the dirt off her face. She quickly crawled over to Ash and turned his body over. He was still unconscious. "Ash…"

The four Pokemon stood around May feeling disgruntled and hopeless. May pressed her hands along Ash's face as she gently stroke his cheek.

"I'm….trying Ash," May said impetuously, "I'm…doing the best I…can…"

Did it all seem hopeless? Was there anything she could do?

May sniffed as she let go of his face. Her tears fell gently onto Ash's face, as they slid down his cheek and onto his mouth.

Suddenly, she heard a voice calling from the other end of the field.

"Hey! What's going on over there!?" a female voice called out.

May frantically looked to her right, she was desperate for help from another person. Suddenly, a Nurse Joy ran from the other end of the field and came up to May.

"Nurse Joy…thank god it's you!" May cried.

"What happened to that boy? Is he unconscious?" she asked nervously.

Joy then quickly glanced up the hill as she noticed the trees engulfed in flames.

"Oh…my," Joy gasped.

May blurted out everything quickly, "We came from that forest…the fire spread along the whole thing!" she said, as she pulled Ash's body up as she rested his head in her lap, "My friend hit his head when a tree branch smacked right into him by the wind! I…I don't know how bad it is….and then there's his Swellow…its body was crushed…it!"

"Dear god. This is serious," Joy pulled out a cell phone from her pocket.

"What…what are you doing?" May asked desperately.

"Calling for help from the Pokemon center…and the fire department," Joy said as she brought the phone to her ear. She looked nervously at the burning forest just above the hill. "Don't worry, I'll be able to help you two soon enough."

"Busken!" Combusken tapped its hand on May's shoulder in order to comfort her.

May had succeeded in escaping the burning forest alive with an unconscious boy beside her. The girl was slightly relieved as she brushed Ash's hair aside and took off his hat. His head was laying on her lap as he had dirt patches all over his face.

"Ash…" May cradled his body in her arms, "Don't you dare die on me!"

Joy was busy talking away on the phone asking for help. Everything she said was a blur to May, as she was focused on making sure Ash was still breathing. She pressed her hands against his chest and felt his pulse...and to her delight he was breathing!

Tears of relief formed in her eyes as she held Ash in her lap contently. "Looks like we're going to make it through this one after all," she said gratefully.


End file.
